Man kills self; harassment by wife, in-laws alleged

‘His wife’s parents were threatening to implicate him if he did not pay ₹15 lakh’

A 24-year-old man died allegedly after consuming poison in Dwarka, the police said on Wednesday. The man took the extreme step allegedly because he was being harassed by his wife and her parents, the police said.

He died in a hospital here on July 26. A senior police officer said that the deceased hailed from Haryana and lived in Dwarka North. His father alleged that the deceased’s wife and her parents had been threatening to implicate his son on charges of harassment and under SC/ST Act if he did not give them ₹15 lakh as settlement. His in-laws had also allegedly said that they would slap dowry charge against him in case of non-payment.

The police have registered a case under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and 34 (common intension) of the Indian Penal Code and begun probe.

‘Against their marriage’

The deceased’s father, in his complaint to the police, said that his son had met his daughter-in-law in 2016 and the two fell in love. The woman’s parents were allegedly against the relationship and did not want them to get married, but the couple tied the knot in 2018 in a temple.

“Her [deceased’s wife] parents did not stop interfering in the couple’s life and submitted several complaints in Bindapur and Mohan Garden police stations against my son [deceased]. Tired of the situation, even my daughter-in-law submitted a complaint with the police in 2018. But she gradually sided with her parents and went to stay with them,” the father told the police.

On July 25, the father added, the 24-year-old called a friend and lent his bike. In the evening, he called the friend again and told him that he had consumed poison and asked him to come and collect his bike from a certain location in Dwarka.

“The friend then took him to a hospital from where he was referred to another. He, however, died during treatment,” a police officer said.

The police said that a case was registered on Tuesday and the claims made by the deceased’s father are being probed. Nobody has been arrested in the case so far, they said.

Suicide prevention helpline: Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health, 011-4076 9002 (Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. -7.30 p.m.).