"Didi mujhe bacho lo (Please save me, sister)" - These were the last words of Veena Kumari to her sister before the call dropped. Seven minutes later, Veena was dead.
Veena Kumari, 28, died under suspicious circumstances. Her husband, Raju Singh, claimed she fell off the roof of a three-floor building in West Delhi's Inderpuri. Her family, however, has alleged dowry harassment and physical assault.
Two Calls Seven Minutes Apart And A Death
On May 18, at 9:55 pm, Veena Kumari called her sister, Reena, requesting to be saved. "Didi mujhe bacha lo. Ye mujhe bahut maar rahe hain. Me bachugi nahi... mujhe jaan se maar denge ye (Please save me, sister. They are beating me. I won't survive this... they are going to kill me)," she said.
Veena also asked her sister to take custody of her six-month-old son after she was gone.
Veena Kumari, 28, died under suspicious circumstances.
The call disconnected.
Reena called back her sister and in-laws but all in vain.
She left for Veena's matrimonial home. Seven minutes later, at 10:02 pm, Reena received a call from Veena's brother-in-law, who said: "Bhabhi chhat se gir gayi (She fell from the terrace.)"
3 Years Of Marriage Ends In Mystery
Veena married Raju a little over three years ago and the two moved from Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal to Delhi soon after in mid-2023. The two had a six-month-old boy.
Arguments followed them at every stage of their married life.
Raju and his brother, Rajkumar, would pass snide remarks about the kind of gifts Veena's family gave them during the wedding, said her brother in an interview with NDTV.
"Raju would say things like 'tere se achi le aata' (I would have gotten a better wife than you). Rajkumar, who got married on April 25, would compare household items Veena brought along with her to what his wife's family gave and say, 'Your father gave a 32-inch TV, while my wife got 46-inch TV along with a motorbike. Both the brothers would beat her up. Once they slapped her so hard that her eardrum was ruptured," the brother added.
Veena's brother alleged that her in-laws were not satisfied with the dowry and wanted a Royal Enfield Bullet.
According to the brother, Veena stopped them from filing a police complaint all this while.
Jaipal, Veena's father-in-law has refuted claims of physical assault, dowry demands and that she was pushed off the roof. He remarked that arguments are common between a couple.
"We did not ask for even a single spoon," Jaipal said, rejecting dowry harassment claims. He added that they let the couple move to Delhi for a better life.
Police Investigation So Far
Confirming the incident, Sharad Bhaskar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) said that a PCR call was received on Monday, reporting that a woman had fallen from a building. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead.
Veena's body was handed over to her family on Wednesday after a post-mortem examination at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.
A case of dowry death has been registered and Raju and Rajkumar have been arrested.
(With inputs from Abhishek Kapoor)
