A documentation report by Gurugram-based NGO firm Ekam Nyaay Foundation has claimed it recorded 554 instances of husband murders and suicides across India during the first six months of this year, where marital disputes, extramarital relationships and domestic harassment emerged as key factors.

The report, according to NGO officials, was compiled by means of media reports and was documented by the foundation until July 14, 2026, which mentioned that 322 husbands were allegedly murdered either by their wives or their wives’ paramours, while 232 husbands died by suicide in cases pertaining to relationship-related disputes and alleged harassment.

As per the figures indicated in the report, nearly two husbands were murdered and more than one of them ended his life every day during the period under review. However, the NGO clarified that the data was based only on media reports tracked by it and did not represent official government statistics. It also pointed out that many such instances go unreported and that India does not maintain a separate national database on husband murders or male victims of domestic abuse, suggesting that the actual number may be higher.

Adultery the leading cause behind husband murders

The report underscores that alleged extramarital relationships topped the chart behind husband murders, accounting for 194 of the 322 documented cases (60%). The Foundation claimed that many such cases involved allegations that wives, along with their purported partners, plotted to eliminate their husbands after they raised objections to the relationship or because the husbands were perceived as impediments to the illicit relationships.

The documented murder cases also revealed various modus-operandi, such as poisoning, burning alive, electrocution, strangulation, dismemberment, burying bodies and attempts to stage murders as either suicides or accidents. Apart from this, 88 husband murders, accounting for 27.3%, were linked to domestic disputes. Other reported motives included financial dissents, family conspiracies and involvement of the spouse’s kin or alleged partners.

Domestic disputes fuelling suicides among husbands

The report then shed light on 232 cases of husbands ending their lives. Prolonged marital conflicts were identified as the leading factor, accounting for 104 cases (44.8%). Another 57 cases, constituting 24.57%, involved allegations of harassment by wives or in-laws. Meanwhile, 29 cases (12.5%) were linked to extramarital relationships.

The remaining cases involved allegations of false criminal complaints, harassment by girlfriends or their families and other personal disputes.

Most of the cases emerge from UP

Uttar Pradesh registered the highest number of documented husband murders, with 93 cases, while it also reported the highest number of husband suicides at 103, as outlined in the report.

Trailing UP under the list were states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Karnataka and Gujarat.

Moreover, the Foundation highlighted 25 particularly disturbing cases from the year, including allegations of husbands being beheaded, dismembered, poisoned, buried under house floors, burnt alive, pushed into deep ravines or killed in alleged conspiracies involving wives and their partners.

NGO calls for official data on male victims

The founder of the Foundation, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj said every case represented a lost life and a devastated family.

Referring to the recent murder of Pune-based realtor Ketan Aggarwal, Bhardwaj said while some cases drew eyeballs on a national level, several similar incidents are reported almost daily. She went on to say that the absence of a separate classification for husband murders and male victims of domestic violence in official crime records makes it difficult to ascertain the actual scale of the issue.

Concluding her statements, she called for greater recognition of such cases and the creation of systematic data collection mechanisms to understand the challenges faced by males who fall prey to marital disputes and domestic abuse.