HYDERABAD: Allegedly harassed by her husband for additional dowry, Devika, a software professional, died by suicide at their flat in a posh apartment in Raidurgam, Cyberabad, on Sunday.
Devika married Satish Chandra six months ago after being in a relationship for around two years.
Her family alleged that Satish had been harassing her, demanding that her family-owned flat in Nizampet and another land parcel be registered in his name.
The Raidurgam police registered a dowry harassment case against Satish and launched an investigation.
Satish is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, while Devika graduated from a reputed institution in Bengaluru.
According to the police, the duo got acquainted while working for an MNC in Bengaluru and had recently moved to Hyderabad after being transferred to the company’s Hyderabad center.
Over the past couple of months, they had frequent fights over petty family issues, prompting elders from both sides to intervene and mediate a compromise.
On Sunday, the couple fought again, following which Satish walked out of the flat, leaving Devika alone. Later, she called him multiple times on his mobile phone, but he did not answer. Late at night, he returned home and entered the flat using his spare key.
He knocked on the bedroom door, but when there was no response, he assumed she had fallen asleep and went to sleep in another room.
On Monday morning, when Satish tried to wake Devika for work, he received no response. He then broke the door and found her hanging from the ceiling.
Devika’s mother, Lakshmi, alleged that at the time of marriage, they had given cash and gold jewelry as dowry, but Satish continued harassing Devika to transfer ownership of the Nizampet flat, where Lakshmi currently resides, as well as a land parcel in their native Vikarabad district.
“I had only my daughter, and now I have lost her too. I demand strict punishment for him for killing my daughter,” Lakshmi said.
Devika was the only child of her parents. Her father had passed away a few years ago. Meanwhile, Satish, a native of Mancherial district, is also the only son of his parents.
His mother passed away a few years ago, and his father currently lives in Mancherial.
Based on Lakshmi’s complaint on Monday evening, the police registered a case and took Satish into custody for questioning.
Since the marriage was less than seven years old, an inquest was conducted by an Executive Magistrate. Devika’s body was handed over to her family after a post-mortem examination on Tuesday, said Ch Venkanna, SHO Raidurgam.
