Ritu faced violence & rape

The family of murdered exairhostess Ritu Sareen stood outside the Gandhi Hospital mortuary on Monday without a clue on how to deal with her death.

They had, on several occasions, tried to persuade Ritu to divorce Sachin, to escape his torture. Ritu, however, was hopeful that she could work on the relationship and things would get better. She was also concerned about her five-month-old son. “Sachin had a sadistic side which he started showing just two months after the wedding. He frequently committed marital rape even when she was nine months pregnant. He used to hit her almost every day asking for more dowry,” said Ritu’s sister, Tulika Sareen.

Sachin apparently suspected Ritu’s character and would not allow her to leave home. He would also question her about her past and insult her in different ways. His parents also used to harass her, said sources.

“Just a few weeks before her delivery Sachin hit her in front of my parents. He pushed her so hard that my mother who was near her also fell on the ground along with her. Just one day after the delivery in a private hospital at Ramanthapur he took the baby and tried to run away,” added Tulika.

Ritu’s relatives said that Sachin used different methods to torture Ritu. He made her touch his feet frequently to signal his dominance. He also used to threaten her and her family saying that he would kill them all. He constantly asked for their property to invest in his business. “Just two months after the wedding he compelled her to quit Jet Airways. She could not even serve the notice period and had to leave citing medical emergency,” said Tulika.

Ritu’s mother Ujala alleged that Sachin had called them only after she had died. She and her husband, Mr Subhash, had come to Hyderabad from Jamshedpur two weeks ago to meet their daughters.