Relative drives girl to suicide

The teenaged girl was accused of stealing a gold chain by her aunt

Priyanka, the teenaged girl who committed suicide by burning herself, was accused of stealing a gold chain by her aunt and was asked by the Chatrinaka police to pay Rs 60,000 to her aunt to settle the issue, police officials investigating her death said on Thursday.

After ‘interrogating’ Priyanka for some time, the Chatrinaka police asked her to settle the matter with Susheela about the dispute. “Accusing me of taking one gram gold, my aunt ordered me to pay Rs. 60,000. I am a casual worker in a plastic factory. That’s too big an amount for me,” she reportedly told the Shivrampally police while undergoing treatment.

Battles for 8 days

Helpless over mobilising that sum to ‘come out of the case’, the teenager went to a friend’s house in Shivajinagar in Shivrampally station limits on September 4, the day on which she was summoned by the Chatrinaka police. She burnt herself and was admitted to OGH. After battling for over eight days, Priyanka succumbed on Wednesday.

Shivrampally police said Priyanka was apparently disturbed over the demand for payment of Rs. 60,000. “However, she did not hold anyone responsible for forcing her to attempt suicide in her statement recorded in the hospital,” police said. Neighbours said the teenager hailed from the old city and was struggling all through her life.

Her parents got her married to a person when she was 13. They died later. Due to harassment by her husband, she approached her mother’s sister, Anuradha, a resident of Uppuguda. Susheela, Priyanka’s mother’s sister, approached the Chatrinaka police three months ago alleging that she had given a gold chain to Anuradha and the latter was refusing to return it.

Police clarify

She maintained that Anuradha gave the chain to Priyanka. “Since they were members of the same family, we initially asked them solve the matter internally but registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust when Susheela preferred to lodge a complaint again on September 4,” the Chatrinaka Inspector, G. Narayana Reddy, said. He maintained that the police only ‘questioned’ Anuradha and Priyanka and didn’t beat up them as alleged by some people.