JAMMU: Ronisha Satti, an Instagram influencer who attempted suicide on Wednesday after posting videos on social media and consuming some substance is undergoing treatment at Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu. She had posted a video on social media before self-harming, accusing her former fiancé, Prashant Sharma, 34, of harassing her and her family and running a campaign to defame them online, even posting intimate videos. This is a case where both sides are accusing each other of taking money and false promises of marriage.Ronisha’s brother Atish Satti told TOI that Ronisha survived the critical phase and was currently under observation in the government medical college Jammu. He alleged that a social media page run by Sharma had been posting defamatory content about his sister and sharing private moments,” causing severe mental distress. According to him, an FIR was registered against Sharma on Wednesday after her sister attempted suicide and it is after that the page got down. He claimed that Ronisha had repeatedly approached the police seeking closure of the social media page but no effective action was taken. According to him, the page was removed only after she publicly named Sharma in videos uploaded on Wednesday.In videos posted before the alleged suicide attempt, Ronisha accused Sharma of harassing her and her family and spreading false allegations against them online.In what appeared to be her final video before the incident, she has said, “I cannot live with this mental harassment. If I am no longer alive, my family should be spared. I am divorced and wanted to live my life independently but I have no patience left now. In India, it seems you do not get justice until you die. My mother talks about death every day. No one gets justice. Thieves get stays, murder accused get stays.”However, Sharma’s legal team strongly rejected the allegations.Talking to TOI, Rajat Sharma, counsel for Prashant Sharma, said his client met Ronisha through Instagram in September 2024. “We do not deny the relationship. Ronisha informed my client that she was a divorcee without children and wished to get married within six months,” he said.According to the lawyer, the couple got engaged during a ring ceremony in Jammu in October 2024. He claimed that Prashant Sharma, a Dubai-based businessman, bore the expenses associated with the ceremony and subsequently spent substantial amounts on Ronisha, including funding trips to Dubai, visa expenses, jewellery, gold ornaments and other purchases.Rajat Sharma alleged that despite repeated requests by his client and his family to formalise the relationship through marriage, the wedding was repeatedly delayed.He claimed that his client later discovered that Ronisha had not obtained a divorce and remained legally married to her husband. “When my client confronted her about this, he was abused and threatened by her and members of her family, which compelled him to approach the police,” the lawyer alleged.According to him, Prashant Sharma lodged an FIR on April 9, after which police booked Ronisha, her mother, brother and sister-in-law on charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy. “The investigation has been completed and a charge sheet has already been filed before the competent court,” he said.The lawyer said Ronisha later lodged a complaint at Channi Himmat police station on May 10, alleging that despite being in a relationship with her, Sharma had refused to marry her. The lawyer said the FIR registered on the basis of Ronisha’s complaint had been challenged before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu, which has stayed the investigation. Sharma rejected Ronisha allegation and alleged that both Ronisha and her mother had recently used social media live sessions to pressure Sharma into marriage. “Marriage is possible only when a person is legally divorced. As of today, she remains married to her husband,” he claimed.However, Ronisha’s lawyer, Amit Sharma, disputed these claims and said his client had never concealed her marital status from Prashant Sharma as it was before the court for the final divorce proceeding. “Both my client and Prashant remained in a relationship for a considerable period and eventually got engaged. Throughout this time, Prashant Sharma was fully aware of her marital status and the legal proceedings relating to her previous marriage,” he said. According to him, Sharma repeatedly assured Ronisha that he intended to marry her and encouraged her to continue the relationship despite being aware of the pending legal proceedings. “Prashant Sharma knew everything from the beginning. In their chats, he repeatedly told her that he wanted to marry her. He also knew her previous husband had already married with some other woman,” the lawyer alleged.He said when she pressed him for the marriage, he started backing out and subjected his client to abuse. He also questioned the police response to complaints made by Ronisha regarding alleged online harassment. He said it is only after she pressed her for marriage, Prashant approached a police station against her and the police filed chargesheet within 25 days. He also denied allegations of her client cheating Prashant and said she bore all her expenses herself. The lawyer claimed that a social media page was used to circulate defamatory content against Ronisha and her family, including allegations linking them to illegal activities. “My client approached the cyber police and sought action against the page because it was publishing objectionable and defamatory content. But no action was taken,” he said.According to him, the matter was subsequently taken to court, which sought an action-taken report from the authorities after which page disappeared sometime. He said that defamatory page resurfaced even after the page was deactivated and her clients’ AI-generated images were posted with obscene content.“The harassment kept increasing,” he said, adding that the page had threatened to post intimate videos of her client and threats had a devastating impact on her mental health, contributing to the extreme step she took.
