Even though we live in a modern era, dowry seems to be an inseparable element of the Indian society. Every now and then, we hear of cases wherein girls are harassed by husbands or in-laws for dowry.
Today, we will narrate to you an incident of Manjula Devak, an IIT-Delhi student, who committed suicide, after being tortured by her in-laws for dowry. Since Manjula couldn’t tolerate the harassment anymore, she hung herself from a fan in Nalanda Apartment (IIT-Delhi campus) on Tuesday around 7.45 pm.
Manjula’s father confirmed that it was because of the torture that she ended her life. Manjula and Ritesh Virha got married 4 years back i.e. in 2013; the couple shifted from Bhopal to IIT Delhi, since she wanted to pursue her PhD in water resources.It is also said that before joining IIT, Manjula was working in the US.
However, when she committed suicide, Ritesh was in Indore. Neighbours saw her last on Monday night; on Tuesday evening, Manjula’s friends tried calling her, but all calls went unanswered. When they went to her room, it was locked from inside; this is when they informed the police officials, who arrived there and broke open the door. They rushed Manjula to the nearby hospital, wherein she was declared dead.
Her father also said that her in-laws were demanding a dowry of Rs. 20 lakhs; this was because Ritesh had quit his job and wanted money to start his own business. Even in 2015, when Ritesh moved to Delhi along with her, she tried to end her life by slitting her wrist.
Her WhatsApp conversation with her younger sister has been revealed; in that, Manjula had written that she’s happy to take a divorce from Ritesh. She also mentioned about her father in-law, who asked her to come back to Bhopal. Check out her WhatsApp texts;
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No suicide note was found; currently, the police is investigating the matter. An officer said, “We will check the call data records and inform the SDM. The SDM will ask her family members to join investigation”.
Strict actions should be taken against people who demand dowry and torture girls. Manjula was an intelligent student and had high aims in life. In spite of becoming academically bright, she had to bear the brunt of dowry. Instead of giving up her life, she should have fought against this evil, don’t you think so? Her husband and in-laws should be taught a good lesson; they deserve the worst punishment for ruining the life of such a smart girl.
