Actor wife death case: Kerala police record statements of relatives who alleged domestic violence
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vattappara police team investigating the alleged suicide of 26-year-old Priyanka, wife of actor Unni P Dev, on Saturday recorded the statements of her relatives, who alleged that she took the extreme step due to the domestic violence she had to face.
However, the police have not yet registered a case against Unni due to the lack of substantial evidence to prove he had assaulted his wife. Unni is the younger son of the late actor Rajan P Dev.
"Priyanka has tested COVID-19 positive. So, the postmortem examination will be held later. After the autopsy, we will verify if Priyanka’s body has bruise marks as claimed by her relatives. Only then can we register a case and take action against Unni, if needed. We have recorded the statements of all complainants, including her brother Vishnu," said R Shabu, Inspector of Police.
Priyanka was found hanging in her bedroom at her residence in Vembayam near here on Wednesday afternoon. A day before her death, Priyanka had filed a complaint of domestic violence against Unni in the Vattappara police station.
Alleging that Priyanka had bruises on her body when she returned home earlier this week from Unni’s house at Angamaly, her relatives have filed a police complaint seeking action against Unni for abetment of suicide and domestic violence.
The police, however, have only registered a case of unnatural death so far. Unni and Priyanka got married on November 21, 2019. According to the complaint, though the couple initially had a happy marriage, they used to quarrel after Unni started to sell Priyanka's jewellery.
Besides, as Unni did not have a job for quite some time, he had resorted to demanding money from Priyanka and her family as dowry, the complaint stated.