Bengaluru suicide: Victim's family demands justice, strict action against harassers

The victim’s uncle alleged his nephew was being harassed and tortured for money and that he was also humiliated by his wife and the judge

The family of the 34-year-old techie who allegedly died by suicide in Bengaluru, has demanded justice for him and strict action against his harassers.

Atul Subhash, who worked for a private firm in the city, had left behind a 24-page purported death note, giving extensive details of what he alleged was years-long emotional distress of marital issues; multiple cases filed against him and harassment by his wife, her relatives, and a judge based in Uttar Pradesh, police said.

Speaking to PTI Videos here, Subhash's brother Bikas said, "I want my brother to get justice. I want this country to have a legal process through which even men can get justice. I want strict action against those who are sitting on a legal chair and doing corruption because if this continues then how will people expect justice." Alleging corruption in the system, he said justice can be expected only when it is corruption-free, when every party is heard equally and arguments are done based on facts.

"....can expect justice only when decisions are made on the basis of facts and if it does not happen, then people will slowly start losing faith in judicial system. It may lead to a situation where people may get afraid to get married. Men may start feeling that if they get married, they will just end up being an ATM machine for vending money," he alleged.

Subhash's body was found at his residence in the Manjunath Layout area, which falls under the Marathahalli police station limits, on Monday. A placard reading "Justice is due" was found in the room where he allegedly ended his life.

Before taking to the extreme step, he recorded an over 80-minute video on Rumble, explaining the circumstances behind his decision.

In the video, which has now gone viral on social media platforms, Subhash can be heard saying, "I feel that I should kill myself because the money I earn is making my enemies stronger. That same money will be used to destroy me, and this cycle will keep going." Subhash's uncle Pawan Kumar alleged his nephew was being harassed and tortured for money and that he was also humiliated by his wife and the judge.

"What has happened is very unfortunate. He was losing the case [filed by his wife]. He was being tortured. They [wife and family] were constantly demanding money from him. To the best of his capacity, he was giving her money for child maintenance." Initially the family demanded ₹40,000 per month, doubled it later and then wanted the deceased to provide ₹1 lakh.

Mr. Kumar charged Subhash's wife and her family of 'minting' money from his nephew under the pretext of child maintenance, for the couple's four year-old son.

He wondered how much money would be required to raise a child of this age.

"His wife even said that he should commit suicide if he cannot pay the amount to which the judge also laughed. This really hurt him," he alleged.

Suicidal thoughts had been lingering in Subhash's mind for the last six months "and till the last moment, he didn't let us know anything." Mr. Kumar said the family had no idea Subhash may do something like this. "He had made a time table for everything." Following Subhash's death, a case of abetment of suicide has been registered against his wife and her family members.

"We will be sending a police team led by the inspector-incharge to Uttar Pradesh. The team will question the deceased's wife and her family members as part of the probe. We are looking into all the allegations and the matter is being investigated from all angles", a senior police officer said.

According to police, preliminary investigations revealed Subhash had been facing marital discord with his wife, who had also registered a case against him in Uttar Pradesh. He also sent his death note via email to several people and shared it with a WhatsApp group of an NGO he was associated with, the officer said.

In his purported death note, Subhash mentioned getting married in 2019. The couple had their son the following year.

(Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to these 24/7 helplines: KIRAN 1800-599-0019 or Arogya Sahayavani at 104 for help).

Published - December 11, 2024 07:17 pm IST