New Delhi: A Hindu woman has died by suicide after her Muslim boyfriend succumbed to injuries sustained after the woman’s family allegedly beat him up over their disapproval of their relationship in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, according to police.
The 20-year-old man died in a hospital in Dehradun after the alleged beating. After she received the news of the man’s death, the woman (19) died by suicide, reported the Times of India.
The woman’s family was reportedly opposed to their inter-faith marriage. Both deceased were BSc students and hailed from the Islampur locality of Rampur Maniharan region in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.
Superintendent of Police (Dehat) Suraj Rai told news agency PTI that the man entered the house of a family living in the village around midnight on Tuesday, November 1. The family members accused him of molesting their daughter and beat him up, police said. He was then handed over to the police in an unconscious state, the police official added.
The police first took him to his home from where he was taken to the district hospital before being shifted to another hospital in Dehradun as his condition deteriorated. He died on the morning of Wednesday, November 2, Rai said.
To Times of India, the man’s family said he was called to the woman’s house.
“The girl’s family called my son to their house on Tuesday. They brutally thrashed him and left him outside the house. After someone informed us, we rushed to the spot and saw him lying on the ground. We took him to a hospital, from where he was referred to a higher centre in Dehradun, where he died,” said the man’s father, who runs a grocery store.
After news of his death reached the village, the woman whose family accused the man of molesting her died by suicide, Rai said. An autopsy report has spelled out that the reason for her death was suicide.
No first information report (FIR) has been filed into any of the deaths. Police said they were yet to receive any complaint from either of the families and promised “appropriate action” once the postmortem report of the deceased man arrived.
According to the TOI report, local businesses shut their stores as soon as the news spread fearing communal unrest given that two religious communities are involved. An additional police force and personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed in the village in Rampur Maniharan police station limits to prevent any untoward situation, PTI reported.
Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada reached the village and met both families. “Police force has been deployed. The probe is on and action will be taken accordingly,” TOI quoted Saharanpur SSP Vipin Tada as saying.
If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. I call, a counselling service run by TISS, has maintained a crowd sourced list of therapists across the country. You could also take them to the nearest hospital. The Wire
Please visit our website London Institute of Peace Research for latest peace news
