HYDERABAD: A 26-year-old woman and her 13-month old daughter were found hanging from the ceiling in the hall of their home at Nacharam on Thursday, allegedly after she was harassed for additional dowry by her in-laws. The woman’s parents lodged a complaint with the police accusing her in-laws of murdering both 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 had promised a 2 tola gold chain for Ruthvika’s first birthday but failed to give it. Chandrasekhar harassed Deepika over this and she killed her daughter and died by suicide,” the inspector said.
However, Deepika’s brother Siddharth told Express that there are reasons for his family to believe that it is a case of murder and not suicide. He said, “At the time of their wedding, we gave them 25 tola gold as dowry and also fulfilled each of their other demands. However, Chandrasekhar’s family kept torturing her. She wasn’t allowed to go out; she wasn’t supposed to call us or talk to us. Above all this, the torture only increased after she gave birth to a girl.”
Siddharth said that his family had agreed to gift a gold chain to the baby, but did not do it as Chandrasekhar did not invite them to the celebrations. He said that Deepika’s father agreed to open a Fixed Deposit account in Deepika’s or Ruthvika’s name.
The family suspects Chandrasekhar and her family murdered Deepika. “She was found hanging in the hall. How come no one was aware since the family lives in a two-room house?” Siddharth asked. He said that he saw her online at 11 am whereas his brother-in-law said that Deepika died by suicide after killing her daughter, three hours before the bodies were brought to the hospital at 1 pm.
More harassment after birth of girl
Deepika’s brother Siddharth said the torture by Chandrasekhar’s family increased after she gave birth to Ruthvika. He added that Deepika wasn’t allowed to even go out or even talk to them