Bhandup man arrested on charge of abetting wife’s suicide

A 26-year-old man from Bhandup was arrested on Sunday night on the charge of abetting his wife to die by suicide

A 26-year-old man from Bhandup was arrested on Sunday night on the charge of abetting his wife to die by suicide.

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Nitin Unhavne, senior inspector of Bhandup police station, said Emanuel N Ulidri was arrested under section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

Naresh Solanki, father of Darshika, 24, said in his complaint that she was in love with Emanuel and the two had registered their marriage in a Bandra court on August 11, 2020.

After she disclosed the news to her parents a month later, they allowed her to go to her husband’s house at Ganeshnagar, Bhandup (West). She was working with a finance firm. “Darshika told me and my wife how Emanuel was short-tempered and would often beat her over small things,” the complaint said.

Solanki said on January 18, 2021, Emanuel had stepped out of the house to speak to someone over the phone. When Darshika had enquired about the call, he got angry and beat her up. Darshika got herself locked inside the bathroom but when she came out Emmanuel assaulted her again. She had narrated this to her mother Kalpana, he said.

Solanki alleged that Emmanuel was over possessive and he would track his daughter’s phone.

“Emmanuel would drop his wife at the office and pick her up back home. On June 4 when Darshika went to her office in an autorickshaw, Emanuel assaulted her with bamboo and she was admitted to a hospital,” the complaint said.

“My daughter was under tremendous pressure and had to leave her job,” Solanki said.

Assistant police inspector H Bhingare said, “According to the woman’s parents, the accused was very possessive about their daughter. The woman was so much frustrated from his violent behaviour that she had filed for divorce. But they were still together.”

According to police, Emanuel on June 11 called Darshika’s parents and informed them that their daughter had allegedly killed herself by suicide. She was taken to Rajawadi hospital where doctors declared her dead, they said.

“The post-mortem report showed no signs of murder as alleged by her parents,” Unhavne said.

Bhingare said the accused claimed he had never thought that she would take the extreme step.

“Emanuel said she was completely fine the night before the incident. A few minutes before her death, she had sent him a message saying sorry for ‘cheating’ him. He showed us her WhatsApp message. We will send Darshika’s mobile phone for forensic examination,” the officer said, adding, “Her autopsy report said she died of hanging.”

Solanki, however, told police that Emanuel knew his daughter’s phone’s password and it was possible that he might have sent that message.

“The accused would torture his wife mentally and physically and she was under tremendous mental pressure and took the extreme step. We have not found any suicide note,” Unhavne said, adding he was presented before a court on Monday which sent him to judicial custody.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to a mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050; and Sanjivini: 011-24311918