New CCTV footage has emerged in the suspected suicide case of a 33-year-old Noida resident at her marital home in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.
The 33-year-old was found dead at her in-laws’ house in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, with her husband and mother-in-law under the scanner over allegations of dowry harassment, assault and murder.
Two video clips appeared from surveillance cameras, shedding light on what happened on the day of the accident.
In one of the videos, obtained by Hindustan Times, the deceased is seen climbing the stairs in the marital home. In the second footage, the woman’s husband is allegedly performing CPR on her – an attempt he is seen making twice.
Read also | ‘Mai Puri Tara Vaas Gay Hoon’: Noida woman days before her death at her marital home in Bhopal
Meanwhile, another woman, apparently the deceased’s mother-in-law, a retired judge, was seen entering the CCTV frame and heading to another room.
The video showed two other men going upstairs and helping the husband drop the unresponsive woman.
Denial of pre-arrest bail for the husband
A Bhopal court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to the deceased’s mother-in-law, a retired judge, who is also an accused in the case, news agency PTI reported.
However, the court rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by the deceased woman’s Noida husband, a lawyer, who is the prime accused in the case and is on the run.
In addition, Bhopal Police also announced a cash reward of Rs $10,000 pounds for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of the husband.
Noida woman said she ‘felt trapped’
Days before her death, the 33-year-old Noida woman told her mother that she felt very trapped in her marital home and wanted to return to her mother’s home.
She was in contact with her parents until approximately 10pm on the day of her death.
The deceased said in conversations with her mother that the people in the marital home did not allow her to cry and did not give her a reason to smile.
She also claimed that her husband accused her of infidelity because she wanted to abort her pregnancy.
Read also | Dating App Match, Barely Six Months Married: How a ‘Dowry Death’ Victim Met Her Husband in Bhopal
News agency PTI reported that her family claimed that she lost 15 kilograms of weight due to continuous psychological torture after marriage.
Her family also alleged lapses in the local investigation and post-mortem procedures at AIIMS Bhopal and demanded a fresh and independent autopsy at AIIMS Delhi.
Her husband says she was a “drug addict.”
In the husband’s bail application, which surfaced on social media, he allegedly claimed that his wife was mentally ill and a drug addict and her hands and feet were shaking when withdrawing.
The mother-in-law of the deceased claimed, in a press conference following the hearing, that the woman was suffering from mental illness and depression.
She claimed the 33-year-old’s death was a “nightmare” for the family because she was part of it.
The retired judge also claimed that the deceased’s family forced her to enter the world of magic at a very young age, claiming that she was subjected to psychological pressure because of this.
Her mother-in-law claimed that the deceased’s family had not visited her during the past five months, adding that they were not now allowing her funeral to take place.
The husband’s bail application also claimed that the deceased’s behavior towards her in-laws changed after she became pregnant, alleging that her husband took her to a beauty salon on the day of her death.
The Noida resident also suffered a miscarriage, PTI reported, citing the bail application.
The investigation into SIT is ongoing
A six-member special investigation team has been formed to probe the 33-year-old’s death and related allegations of dowry-related harassment and abuse.
An FIR has been registered against the husband and mother-in-law of the deceased under Section 80(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to dowry death.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Rajneesh Kashyap, who is heading the Special Investigation Team, took note of the lapses reported in the local investigation and said that while the post-mortem report issued by AIIMS Bhopal indicates “suicide by hanging”, the family of the deceased claims that multiple injury marks on her body indicate murder.
Kashyap also reportedly confirmed that the investigating officer had failed to send the rope allegedly used in hanging to AIIMS during the post-mortem, adding that action would be taken against the officer.
Kashyap also told news agency PTI that the Special Investigation Team is probing the case on the basis of dowry and abetment sections of the FIR.
“In the bail application, allegations of Twisha being a drug addict have been mentioned, but we are conducting a stringent investigation into the case as per the sections mentioned in the FIR,” Kashyap said.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides can be prevented. If you need support or know someone who does, please contact your nearest mental health professional.
Helplines: Al-Asra: 02227546669; Sneha Foundation India: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secunderabad) Contact Numbers: 040-66202001, 040-66202000; One Life: Contact Number: 78930 78930, Seva: Contact Number: 09441778290
