The deceased’s family members alleged that her husband and in-laws had started harassing her for dowry within a few months of her marriage. A 28-year-old junior engineer has reportedly died by suicide by jumping off the fifth floor of the Military Engineer Services transit hostel building over alleged dowry harassment by her husband after the birth of a girl child. The husband has been arrested in this connection, police said on Thursday. The incident took place on Wednesday under Chakeri police station area.
Police said Rajni Pandey was posted in the maintenance section of Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment in Kanpur.
She got married to one Shivam Pandey, who is an engineer at a private company, in May 2019. The deceased’s family members alleged that her husband and in-laws had started harassing her for dowry within a few months of her marriage. Last month, she gave birth to a girl child, following which her harassment increased.
“The woman worked in the maintenance of transit hostel for research scholars. On Wednesday, she reached the fifth floor of the building and jumped off from there. She was already dead by the time we reached the spot. A suicide note has been recovered from her possession. She has blamed her husband for her death in the note. Her parents have alleged that she used to be continuously harassed for dowry and blamed for the birth of the girl child. We have arrested the husband,” said Cantonment Circle Officer (CO) Ashok Kumar Singh.
Sources in the police department confirmed that the forensic team has found a pack of around 15 sleeping pills and a phenyl bottle from her bag, suggesting that she was planning the suicide for some time.
“Following a complaint by the family members of the deceased we have registered an FIR against the husband and three other of his family members under sections 498 A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 304 B (dowry death) of the IPC. In the suicide note, the woman has held her husband responsible for her death. The note has been sent for forensic test and the husband has been arrested,” added Singh.
The body of the woman, meanwhile, has been sent for post-mortem examination.
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