Husband of Iit-delhi scholar, who committed suicide in May, arrested
DOWRY DEATH Parents of Manjula Devak alleged harassment by her husband and inlaws over dowry demands
NEW DELHI:
(In order to save your home, if you are beaten once in a while, then what is the problem) – 11.59 am, May 29, 2017.
Hours before she was found hanging inside her hostel room at the Indian Institute of Technology campus in Delhi, scholar Manjula Devak, 28, had sent this message through Whatsapp to her friend detailing how her father-in-law told her that it was normal if her husband thrashed her to make their marriage work.
This message, among others, formed a crucial part of the evidence that led the police to arrest Manjula’s husband, Ritesh Virha, last Thursday from Bhopal.
He was arrested by a Delhi police team on alleged charges of dowry death. The team is in Bhopal to question his parents.
Chinmoy Biswal, additional deputy commissioner of police, south west district, confirmed Ritesh’s arrest from Bhopal.
On May 29, Manjula, a civil engineer pursuing PHD in IIT Delhi, was found hanging in her room. A topper of the water with whom she had shared the details of her alleged harassment over Whatsapp messages.
Another message that the police retrieved read: “
(they have harassed me enough. They are evil people).
“My daughter took her life because of the constant harassment by her husband and in-laws. She was troubled and wanted divorce. We have submitted all evidence to the police. We want the police to arrest her in-laws too,” Devak told Hindustan Times.
Till October 15, the Delhi police registered 103 cases of dowry deaths across the city. Dowry-related cases in Delhi have been on a rise over the years.
Though crimes such as murder and robbery have been either decreasing or seeing a marginal rise each year, dowry-related cases have doubled in the last five years.
Between 2012 and October 15, 2017, at least 818 women died in dowry-related cases in Delhi.
In 2012, 2,046 dowry-related cases were registered in the national Capital. The number of such cases increased to 3,053 in 2016 .