KASARGOD: A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with abetting the suicide of his wife Nousheera, 25, of Parappally in Ambalathara, said the police. Abdul Razak of Parappally Maquam was remanded in custody for two weeks by a Hosdurg court on Thursday, said Ambalathara sub-inspector Michael Sebastian. He said Razak was charged with abetment of suicide and domestic violence. The couple has two daughters. The younger daughter will turn one on Friday, and the elder daughter will turn three on March 19.
Razak, who runs a burqa shop in Dubai, returned home six months ago because of the pandemic, said Sebastian. On February 10, two days before his return to Dubai, his relative organised a night party for the family at Ozhinhavalappu near Nileshwar. At the party, Razak assaulted Nousheera in front of his relatives, said her father Mohammed Kunhi, 60, of Panathur.
When the couple returned home late in the night, she allegedly tried to end her life. On February 11, she died at a private hospital in Kannur. Her father said Nousheera had immediately WhatsApped her elder sister about the assault on her at the party but the message was not seen till next morning. “If we had seen the message, we would have picked her up in the night,” he told TNIE.
Kunhi, who runs a travel agency in Panathur, said Razak used to frequently harass his daughter asking for more money and dowry. “I had given 800 gm of gold jewellery for the wedding of my elder daughter. But my financial status dropped and I could give only 440 gm of jewellery for Nousheera’s wedding,” he said. Kunhi alleged Razak made no effort to save Nousheera’s life. “She was first taken to Sanjeeveni Hospital in the night. But he told the doctors that she took wrong medicines when the fact was it was a case of hanging,” he said.
Then she was referred to Kannur Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyaram and then shifted to Aster MIMS in Kannur. “There was unnecessary delay in treating her,” he said. Razak’s family did not inform Kunhi about Nousheera’s condition till morning. The Ambalathara police had sent one officer along with Kunhi to pick the girls from Razak’s house. “When we reached there, the girls were alone at home,” he said. “How can we trust anything such a family says,” asked Kunhi.