2 weeks Ago
Surat: A 37-year-old woman, Preeti Katiyar , died by suicide after allegedly being hounded by her husband and in-laws for not bearing a child. Bipin Katiyar (35) and his parents, Suresh and Ramakanti, had allegedly been harassing the victim ever since her wedding in 2016. They were allegedly pressuring the victim to divorce Bipin so that he could marry another woman to have a child.
Bipin had also been demanding Rs 10 lakh from the victim. Chowk Bazar police have booked all three and arrested Bipin. An FIR was lodged by Abhay (26), Preeti's nephew, who lives in Delhi.
According to the complaint, Preeti married Bipin in 2016, after which the couple lived at Bipin's native place in Kanpur Dehat district of UP. Three years ago, they shifted to Surat and were living in Katargam. Before the move to Surat, Suresh and Ramakanti would allegedly harass Preeti "for not conceiving".
They would tell her to leave their son so he could marry again and have a child. Bipin would also allegedly taunt the victim, trying to force her into giving him a divorce so that he could marry someone else. Preeti had told Abhay about this harassment many times over the phone and in person.
When the couple moved to Surat, Bipin joined a diamond unit. Due to the slowdown in the diamond industry, Bipin lost his job two months ago. He then began pressuring Preeti to get Rs 10 lakh from her brother, Arvind, who is disabled.
When Preeti expressed her inability to get money from Arvind, Bipin started hounding her to leave his home. On Feb 16, Preeti called Abhay, saying that Bipin had fought with her and left for UP, leaving her alone without any money. Abhay then called Bipin and told him he would go to Surat and take Preeti to Delhi.
Bipin then sent him a message through Preeti on the morning of March 15, that he should instead come to Kanpur on March 18, where they would sit together and talk about the issue. Abhay received a call from a relative on the evening of March 15, saying Preeti had hanged herself. "The couple had moved to Surat three years ago, thinking their problems would end.
The harassment over not having a child continued. According to the complainant, Preeti had attempted suicide a week ago too, but neighbours had saved her. When it was decided to go to Kanpur again, the victim may have been traumatized and taken the extreme step.
We arrested Bipin Katiyar after booking him and his parents for abetment to suicide and cruelty against a woman under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 108, 85, and 54," said a police officer..
