VISAKHAPATNAM: The excitement and celebratory mood at a wedding turned into gloom and then grief as the bride collapsed minutes before tying the knot and died at a hospital in Madhurawada here. The bride, Srijana (22), and her family, natives of Jalamuru in Srikakulam, had shifted to Hyderabad a decade ago.
On May 7, they came to Visakhapatnam for the wedding. The woman, a BCom graduate, was to marry a man from PM Palem in the city. The bride's family was staying at an accommodation arranged by the groom’s family.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Visakhapatnam (North) ACP Srinivas said that Srijana complained of stomach ache on Wednesday morning and was taken to a private hospital, where the doctors administered IV fluids before discharging her.
Srijana was reportedly feeling better and attended her reception at 7 pm. Around 10 pm, she suddenly collapsed on the pandal, just 15 minutes before the auspicious time. "She was immediately taken to the same hospital. Around 2 am, she was shifted to a corporate hospital as her condition worsened. Srijana died at 8.50 am on Thursday while undergoing treatment," the ACP said.
Quoting doctors, the officer said she might have consumed 'some poison'. "Srijana's parents lodged a complaint urging the police to probe the cause of death," he said. A case under IPC Section 174 (suspicious death) was registered based on a complaint by the bride's father, Munjeti Eswara Rao.
As per the FIR, ahead of the sangeet function on May 8, Srijana had consumed pills for three days to delay her period. Meanwhile, police also found seeds of a poisonous fruit in Srijana's bag.
While it has been suspected that the bride might have consumed the toxic seeds, her parents asserted that the marriage was fixed with her consent. Srijana's friends, too, confirmed that she had consented to the alliance.
ACP Srinivas said the body has been shifted to KGH for postmortem and that the exact cause of death can be ascertained once the report comes.