‘He threatened to throw acid’: Parents of Hyd woman who died over dowry harassment

“Ganesh said that he would abandon her if she gave birth to two girls,” said the parents of 27-year-old Soundarya, who jumped off a multi-storey building in Hyderabad on June 19, carrying her 18-month-old twins Nitya and Nidarsh. All three died instantly. Soundarya’s death was attributed to the repeated dowry harassment she faced from her husband Gandam Ganesh. Speaking to TNM a few days after her death, her family raised serious allegations of dowry harassment, body shaming, physical assault, and mental harassment against Ganesh and his family.

Soundarya and Ganesh got married on November 25, 2020. At the time of the wedding, her parents paid Ganesh a dowry that included a 150-sq-yards plot in Yadadri district and 4.5 tola gold, along with Rs 2 lakh in cash. Besides this, household furniture like an almirah, a cot, and clothes worth Rs 10,000 were given to Ganesh. But her daughter was constantly harassed with further demands for dowry, said Durgamma, Soundarya’s mother. 

“[Ganesh] said that we had done nothing for him, and demanded that we hand over the double bedroom flat given to us by the state government to him,” Durgamma said. Soundarya’s family were beneficiaries of the double bedroom scheme, a flagship programme of the Telangana government that grants free-of-cost housing to the shelter-less poor and slum dwellers.

Durgamma said that her daughter faced harassment on multiple fronts, and was even physically assaulted. “On two different occasions, we have seen him hit her,” she said, adding that Ganesh resorted to body shaming Soundarya on several occasions. Durgamma also alleged that Ganesh threatened to throw acid on Soundarya and separate her from her children. She added that he also said that if he ever came out of prison after the crime, he would attack Durgamma and Vemana too.

According to Soundarya’s family, Ganesh had also said that he would abandon her if she gave birth to two girls. “For an entire night, he kept questioning her on whether she had any partner before she married him and kept implying that her character wasn’t upright,” added Lavanya, Soundarya's sister.

“Soundarya was pressured into having a child one month into the marriage as Ganesh’s parents wanted grandchildren. During her pregnancy, she lived entirely with us and also stayed here for six months after,” said Durgamma, adding, “The entire time, we took care of her and him as well, as he too stayed with us.”

In his testimony to the police, Soundarya’s father Komaravelli Vemana said that he sent his nephews Raju and Santosh to sort out the issues with Ganesh amicably. However, Raju told TNM, “Ganesh said, ‘I don't need Soundarya, I am going to marry someone else and leave for Dubai’.”

Vemana said that he had told Soundarya that she could stay with them after they got to know about the issues. “I told her she could stay with us. We would have taken care of our grandchildren and she could have earned her living. But before anything could be done, she took her life,” he said.

The police arrested Ganesh and his mother and booked them under sections 498(A) (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 304(B) (committing dowry death), 302 (punishment for murder) read with Section 109 (punishment for abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 3 (giving or taking dowry), 4 (demanding dowry), and 6 (dowry to be to the benefit of the wife or her heirs) of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.

Tamil Nadu

State health department's suicide helpline: 104

Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)

Andhra Pradesh

Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930

Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584

Karnataka

Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222

Kerala

Maithri: 0484 2540530

Chaithram: 0484 2361161

Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.

Telangana

State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104

Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200

SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)

Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.    

24x7 Helpline: 9820466726 

Click here for working helplines across India.