Within six months of marriage, a 27-year-old woman committed suicide by consuming poison in Nashik city of Maharashtra as she was allegedly subjected to torture by her husband and his family members over money and other issues, police said.
The incident occurred in Panchavati area of the city on Wednesday afternoon, and her husband and four members of his family were arrested on Thursday after a case was registered against them.
In her suicide note, the victim also alleged that her in-laws forced her to undergo a virginity test.
The victim, Neha, tied the knot with Santosh Pandit Pawar in June this year. Soon afterwards, her husband, her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law started harassing her mentally and physically in order to get money from her, the police said.
Fed up, she consumed poison and ended her life at her husband's house. Prior to taking the extreme step, she wrote a suicide note, clicked a photo of it and sent it to her brother on WhatsApp, a police official said.
In the note, the woman mentioned that her husband, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law used to torture her consistently. It also said that her husband had an affair prior to their marriage, and that he had even shown photographs about it to her. He also suspected her character, the official added.
On receiving the note, her brother rushed to her house, but found her lying unconscious. He rushed her to a private hospital, where she died during treatment later, he said.
After her death, Neha's relatives gathered outside the Panchavati police station, seeking justice for her and stringent punishment to those responsible for her death.
The police swung into action, and arrested Neha's husband, her mother-in-law Jijabai Pawar, sisters-in-law Sheetal Ashok Ahire, Meenakshi Sheetal Ahire and Bharati Dattaram Pawar, the official said.
Meanwhile, Krishna Chandgude of the Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, an organisation that fights superstition and promotes a scientific outlook, said the state government should investigate the allegation of virginity test levelled by the victim.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
