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‘Pattern of cruelty': What the mother of pan masala baron's daughter-in-law alleges in Delhi ‘suicide’ case
Deepti got married on December 2, 2010, and the alleged harassment started within months of the marriage, police quoted the complainant as saying
The mother of Deepti Chaurasia, the deceased daughter-in-law of a pan masala baron, has levelled grave allegations against her husband and in-laws, blaming harassment and violence at their hands for Deepti's alleged suicide at her residence in Delhi's Vasant Vihar.
Deepti's mother demanded that the case be probed from “all angles”, and by the CBI, a report by news agency PTI said.
Based on the mother's complaint, Delhi Police had on Friday registered an FIR against the husband and mother-in-law of Deepti (38), the daughter-in-law of Kamla Pasand pan masala brand owner Kamal Kishor Chaurasia, days after she was found hanging at her southwest Delhi residence.
'Long pattern of cruelty'
Deepti got married on December 2, 2010, and the alleged harassment started within months of the marriage, police quoted the complainant as saying.
Deepti's mother alleged a long pattern of physical and mental cruelty by her daughter's husband and his family.
Despite assurances that it will not be repeated, the harassment continued, she alleged.
She also alleged that Deepti's mother-in-law mistreated her, defamed her in social circles, and excluded her from family functions.
What happened just before her death
A few days before Deepti’s death, her son-in-law had travelled abroad, and the couple had arguments after he returned, she said.
On November 25, at around 7.30 am, Deepti reportedly spoke to her mother over the phone, mentioned the quarrel, and enquired about her father's health.
The complainant claimed she advised her daughter to stay calm. Later the same day, she tried calling Deepti around 11.30 am but received no response.
When she called Deepti's mother-in-law, she was told that her daughter had gone out. She then contacted her husband, who allegedly told her that he was on his way home.
Around noon, the family received a call informing them that Deepti had been taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead, the complainant said.
According to police, Deepti was found hanging in a room of their Vasant Vihar house on Tuesday afternoon. Her husband rushed her to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
Diary found in her room
A diary recovered from the victim's room mentions “relationship issues”. “In a diary entry, she mentioned issues in her relationship,” a senior police officer aware of the investigating said on the condition of anonymity, according to an earlier HT report.
The officer further said that there were no names written in the entry.
The woman's brother has also alleged that she was being “harassed” and “tortured” by her in-laws and husband. “Her husband used to harass her. We recently learned that he had illegally married someone else,” the brother alleged.
The businessman and his family have not yet reacted to the allegations.
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Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
