Bengaluru suicide: FIR filed against techie’s wife, in-laws; lawyers slam ‘misuse’ of laws

Atul Subhash’s brother Bikas Kumar has filed an FIR in Bengaluru for abetment of suicide against Atul's wife Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha Singhania, her brother Anurag Singhania and her uncle Sushil Singhania.

Atul, who hailed from UP and lived in Bengaluru, in his 24-page suicide note, detailed the harassment and extortion he had faced in the hands of his wife, her family members, and a judge. Atul claimed his wife had filed nine cases against him, including murder, sexual misconduct, harassment for money, domestic violence, and dowry.

The marriage that went sour

Atul married Nikita Singhania in 2019 after meeting her on a marriage website and had a child with her. After some problems that sprung up between them during Covid, she left him. Subsequently, NIkita kept filing many cases against him.

Bikas Kumar told the media that his brother did everything for her.

“Whatever has happened was unfortunate. If he had ever discussed it with me or our father,  we would have helped him get out of this situation," he told reporters.

Also read: Bengaluru techie dies by suicide, leaves 24-page note, blaming wife, her kin

Mental harassment through cases

In the complaint filed by Bikas, he alleged that Nikita and her family filed a divorce case against Atul and kept slapping false cases against him. They framed many charges against his brother and their entire family under different acts and sections.

Nikita had allegedly asked him to pay ₹3 crore for settling the case. Additionally, Atul's wife had demanded ₹30 lakh to allow him to visit his son who is now four years old.

The complaint further alleged that Atul died by suicide as he was harassed mentally and physically. Based on the complaint, a case has been registered and an investigation is currently underway.

Laws favour women, says Bikas Kumar

Earlier, while speaking to news agency ANI, Bikas had said, “Around eight months after his brother's wife separated from him, she filed a divorce case and framed many charges against my brother and our entire family under different acts and sections."

He further added that all the laws in India favour women over men. “Every law in India is for women, and not for men, my brother fought for this but he left us… "

Atul has written in his suicide note that if he wins from the system, his family should devote their mortal remains in Ganga or else it should be discarded in a gutter outside the court.

When the Bengaluru police broke into his flat and found Atul hanging, they also got a 24-page suicide note.

On each page he had written "Justice is Due". Subhash also accused a family court judge in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur of not hearing him out, and an officer of the court of taking bribes in front of the judge.

His suicide note also had a message for his four-year-old son who he claimed had been kept away from him. The note and the link to the video were sent to the WhatsApp group of an NGO, to which he was connected.

Also read: ‘I'll go to prison, but not back home’: Bengaluru techie flees after wife’s ‘harassment’

Lawyers slam misuse of dowry laws

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based lawyer Abha Singh slammed the misuse of dowry laws, pointing out to ANI that "false charges and harassment" led to the suicide of the victim. The misuse of such laws meant for the safety of women can ultimately deny true justice to those who genuinely need the protection, she said.

Terming the blackmail as "shameful", Singh said that her heart went out to the mother of the deceased and to the four-year-old son who will never know his father just because his "greedy mother had other plans for him".

A Delhi-based men’s rights activist Barkha Trehan added that there is a lot of bias in the system where only women are heard and not men.

According to her, men are tortured and threatened and cases under IPC 498 are constantly registered against the men. The Supreme Court has even observed that 95 per cent are fake, she said, adding that laws made for women are unfortunately being used as weapons.

(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)