Kin alleges caste hatred, dowry harassment drove woman to suicide

KOCHI: Family members of a Scheduled Caste woman who was found dead at her residence in Kochi on June 1 have approached the police alleging that caste hatred and dowry harassment had driven her to take the extreme step. Sangeetha, 25, daughter of Sajeevan, was found hanging in the couple’s rented house near the High Court in Kochi. Her family alleged that the police failed conduct a proper investigation into the death, though they had filed a complaint.

Sangeetha fell in love with Sumesh, a native of Thrissur, who was running a toy shop in Kochi. Sangeetha was working as a saleswoman at another shop. According to Sajeevan, he had agreed to the marriage after Sumesh’s family approached him a couple of years ago. Though Sumesh did not demand dowry then, his family started harassing Sangeetha demanding money.

“Sangeetha faced caste discrimination at Sumesh’s house. They did not allow my daughter to sit in chairs and had kept separate plates and a glass for her. Sumesh, who belongs to Ezhava community, was staying with Sangeetha separately in a rented room in Kochi and never accepted us as his in-laws. On the day of her death, only Sumesh was there at the house and we suspect he had killed Sangeetha,” he said.  

“Though Sangeetha had agreed to hand over her salary to Sumesh, he was not ready to accept her. As Sumesh started avoiding her, Sangeetha approached the Central police station for an amicable solution. However, the police didn’t do anything. After returning from the police station, Sangeetha died by suicide. Though Sumesh was present at the house when she died, he fled soon after,” said Sajna, sister of Sangeetha.

“Sangeetha had faced humiliation from his family as we belong to a Scheduled Caste. She was in deep love with Sumesh and was ready to sacrifice everything for him. She decided to file a complaint when Sumesh tried to ditch her. They also alleged that Sumesh had forced her to sign a joint divorce petition. “He tried to establish that she had mental problems and even took her to a hospital, saying it was a part of marriage counselling,” said Saleena.