HYDERABAD: A 26-year-old woman and her 13-month-old daughter were found hanging from the ceiling in the hall of their home in Nacharam on Thursday, allegedly after being harassed for extra dowry by her in-laws. The woman’s parents filed a complaint with the police accusing her in-laws of murdering the baby and their daughter.
Nacharam Inspector Kiran Kumar identified the victim as Telugu Deepika and Ruthvika. She had married Telugu Chandrasekhar in 2019 and the couple had a baby girl Ruthvika on February 4, 2021. “Deepika’s family promised a 2 tola gold chain for Ruthvika’s first birthday but did not give it. Chandrasekhar harassed Deepika about it and she killed her daughter and committed suicide,” the inspector said.
However, Deepika’s brother Siddharth told Express his family had reason to believe it was a murder and not a suicide. He said, “At the time of their marriage, we gave them 25 tola of gold as a dowry and we also fulfilled each of their other requests. However, Chandrasekhar’s family continued to torture her. She was not allowed to go out; she wasn’t supposed to call us or talk to us. Above all, the torture only increased after she gave birth to a daughter.
Siddharth said his family agreed to give the baby a gold chain but didn’t because Chandrasekhar didn’t invite them to the celebrations. He said that Deepika’s father had agreed to open a fixed deposit account in either Deepika’s or Ruthvika’s name.
The family suspect Chandrasekhar and his family of murdering Deepika. “She was found hanging in the hallway. How come no one knew about it since the family lives in a two room house? asked Siddharth. He said he saw her online at 11 a.m. while his brother-in-law said Deepika took her own life after killing her daughter, three hours before the bodies were brought to hospital at 1 p.m.
No more harassment after the birth of a daughter
Deepika’s brother Siddharth said torture by Chandrasekhar’s family increased after she gave birth to Ruthvika. He added that Deepika was not even allowed to go out or even talk to them.
