The death of a woman in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal has unleashed an ugly blame game between her in-laws and parents, with the former suggesting that the deceased was a schizophrenic as well as a drug addict and the latter calling the claims as defamation of a person who is not there to defend self.
The woman in her 30s, originally from Uttar Pradesh's Noida, allegedly died by suicide last week at her Bhopal residence in Bagh Mugalia Extension. Her family, however, alleged foul play, pointing to injury marks on her body. They claimed she said she was assaulted by her husband.
Since her death, several developments such as her husband's disappearance, acctv footage purportedly of moments before her death and purported WhatsApp chats where she expressed frustration over situation at her marital home have raised questions over the events that led to the alleged suicide.
The mother-in-law of the deceased, a retired judge, spoke to media on Monday and Tuesday, claiming that within five months of the marriage, she noticed the woman held liberal views. She alleged that upon confirming her pregnancy on the 17th, the woman's behaviour changed drastically as she refused to keep the child. According to her, the woman was found self-harming that evening.
"Her parents never came to see her during the last five months. They were earning because of her looks and are now not allowing her cremation. I have faith in the investigating agencies and in the truth," said the mother-in-law and retired judge on Monday.
“Within five months, I realised that she held quite liberal views... on the 17th [May], the moment she received confirmation of her pregnancy, her entire demeanour changed; she declared that she did not want to keep this child... that very evening, when I returned home from the office, I saw that she was in a terrible state; she was physically beating herself. She kept crying out, 'I cannot go on living like this!'... I told her, 'If you truly wish to leave, we can arrange your ticket for tomorrow so you may depart with dignity'... We do not know where she had gone in the night... I also asked her mother. She also said that she does not know about this... She acts entirely on her own whims, taking steps that are completely reckless and impulsive…,” the mother-in-law claimed while speaking to media on Tuesday.
She said following that incident, the woman's mother came to Bhopal on the May 23. "She didn't even stay; she simply said she would return on the 30th when her husband arrives... On the 30th, she returned and once again became adamant about going to the hospital to undergo an MTP (Medical Termination of Pregnancy)...," she alleged.
The mother-in-law further defended her son, stating that men often struggle to express grief through tears and that he had been suffering due to his wife's behavioral issues from the very beginning. She claimed there were no major fights, but the medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) caused emotional distress. She maintained that her son would eventually surface and look after his legal defense, asserting that the case against them deserves dismissal.
On Monday as well, the mother-in-law had spoken about the alleged pregnancy termination procedure, saying that his son's wife wanted to reverse the same immediately after taking the first course. "When she started the first course of the MTP [medical termination of pregnancy], she said she wanted to reverse this, which I knew was not possible... She didn't let us feel that fleeting moment of joy. It is truly heartbreaking; young girls often take this drastic step... On 7th May, she must have taken the pill; she completed the entire MTP procedure, and we had to support her... I also called her mother, as she was needed there. For five months, her parents never visited... We deliberately did not call her husband; he has a very strange personality. For nearly twenty years, he has been working in the pharmaceutical industry—specifically in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, he could potentially be the source of many things... I think they were earning out of all her... But the matter is sub judice," the mother-in-law said, according to an ANI news agency video of her remarks.
Extending her claims regarding the deceased woman's mental health, the retired judge called the death a profound loss but alleged that the woman was undergoing psychiatric treatment and taking medication meant for schizophrenia, displaying physical symptoms like hand tremors.
"It's a profound loss for us because, whatever the circumstances, she was a part of our family... She went for psychiatric counselling also, and medicines were prescribed to her, which are given to a schizophrenic patient... She would remain stable for a day or so, but then again, there would be a slight change in her condition. We observed some physical symptoms, a slight trembling in her hands, which is typical of withdrawal symptoms... She destroyed everything...," the mother-in-law said on Monday.
She further alleged that the woman suffered from drug withdrawal after moving to Bhopal, claiming she confessed to using heavy amounts of marijuana to end her pregnancy.
"After coming here, all her supply of drugs was out... She confessed to consuming large quantities of marijuana when she wanted to reverse her pregnancy... A counselling session took place during that time... Though I cannot make any hyper-technical statement on the matter because she was on schizophrenic drugs..."
In response, the father of the deceased strongly rejected these claims, accusing his daughter's mother-in-law of fabricating stories to evade accountability. Speaking to media on Tuesday, he emphasised that his daughter died under suspicious circumstances inside her marital home and criticised the former judicial officer for publicly defaming a deceased, career-oriented woman.
"The culprit is simply trying to find ways to save herself. That is why she is making different kinds of allegations. Because the girl is dead now, she thinks she can accuse her freely and shift the blame onto her. The girl died in their house. She was killed in their house. They should answer for that. As for these allegations, they should present them in court. Defaming a deceased girl publicly is itself a serious wrongdoing. And the fact that someone holding such a high judicial position is doing this is itself extremely shameful. A girl whom you brought into your house, she was dynamic, career-oriented, educated, and now you are making such accusations against her. Today they are calling it schizophrenia. I say, who could be more schizophrenic than you, that you took such a good daughter and killed her in your own house?"
The mother of the deceased also dismissed any financial motives, clarifying that there were no monetary dependencies between them and their daughter. She stated that they only wanted her to focus on her career, adding that the in-laws were attempting to restrict her, and expressed profound grief over losing her daughter.
"We never had any shortage of money. We never took money from her, and my daughter never gave us money either. We always told her to focus on building a good career. We had no financial problems, and my daughter knew that very well. The only issue was that they were trying to stop her. What the mother-in-law has said, that they kept her for money, what more do they want from us? She can take all the money from us if they want, take however much they want, but give me my daughter back the way we had given her to them."
The local police are currently investigating the matter, examining the recovery of the CCTV footage, WhatsApp conversations, and the autopsy report to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the tragedy.