Woman kills herself, leaves note saying husband’s friend was blackmailing her

NEW DELHI: A 28-year-old woman allegedly killed herself in east Delhi’s Mansarovar Park on Thursday, leaving behind a suicide note in which she has accused her husband’s friend of allegedly stalking, blackmailing and seeking sexual favours for the past two years. The man, who was named in the suicide note, has been arrested, police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Meghna Yadav confirmed the incident and said, “A case of abetment to suicide under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the MS Park police station. We have arrested the friend of woman’s husband. He runs a sweet shop.”

In her one-page note written in English, the woman said she was depressed because her husband’s friend had been asking her to have an extra-marital affair with him, a police officer associated with the case said. She has written that the man was threatening to defame her by sending her “objectionable” pictures and videos to her husband. He also threatened that he would upload them on social media if she refused to fulfil her demands.

DCP Yadav said the incident came to their notice at around 8am on Thursday when the woman’s husband, who works in a call centre in west Delhi’s Karol Bagh, returned home and found his wife hanging in the bedroom at their flat. A police team reached there and rushed her to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead.

The police questioned her husband and he told them that his wife lately seemed to be tense and that she had stopped interacting with family as well. The man told the police that he had asked her several times if something was worrying her, but she never mentioned the problem.

“We then scanned the bedroom and found a suicide note. The man confirmed that the handwriting in the note was his wife’s. We have yet to send the note to a forensic lab to ascertain the handwriting,” said the officer, adding the couple had been married for seven years.

The note contained allegations of stalking and blackmailing against the husband’s friend. When the police asked the husband if he was aware of these allegations, he said his wife never discussed the matter with him.

“We have seized the mobile phones and other electronic items from the house of the accused. We have sent them to the forensic lab to see if they contain the pictures mentioned in the suicide note,” said DCP Yadav.