BENGALURU: A 34-year-old software engineer died by suicide at his residence in Marathahalli, leaving a 24-page death note behind. He had stuck a sheet of paper printed with ‘Justice is Due’ on the T-shirt he was wearing. It is suspected that the man took the extreme step due to alleged harassment by his wife and her family. He also recorded a video before hanging himself in his room. The deceased Atul Subhash was from Uttar Pradesh.
The police said Subhash was reportedly suffering from depression. Before taking the extreme step, Subhash sent a message at midnight on the WhatsApp group of an NGO which deals with domestic harassment by women, informing that he was ending his life.
A group member saw the message in the morning and alerted police, who reached his room to find him hanging, with a sheet of paper pasted on his T-shirt that read ‘Justice is Due’. He had also pasted printouts on the wall with the same message.
Subhash’s wife had reportedly filed nine cases against him in UP, charging him with murder attempts and dowry harassment. He had separated from his wife over the dispute. Subhash had allegedly been planning his suicide for three days.
“He had pasted a detailed to-do list before ending his life, and titled it ‘Final task before Mukti’ and pasted it on a cupboard in the room. It also had instructions on where his death note and keys were kept, along with a list of completed and pending tasks over two days,” the police said. In his 24-page note, he mentioned the harassment, extortion and corruption he faced from his wife and her family, as well as a gift he left for his four-year-old son.
The video Subhash recorded claimed that five individuals, including a family court judge in Jaunpur, and his wife Nikita Singhania and her family members were responsible for his death. He also described the burden of the nine cases filed against him and his parents, which forced him to frequently travel between Bengaluru and Jaunpur.
A senior officer said police are yet to register a case. Subhash’s family were informed, and based on their complaint, further action will be taken.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, help is available. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 or Call, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline - 02225521111)