Ballia: In Ballia, authorities have apprehended two individuals in relation to the suspected suicide of a young woman, whose body was discovered hanging from a tree with her hands bound, as reported by police on Sunday.
The suspects have been charged with abetting suicide, according to a senior police official.
However, the victim’s family insists that she was murdered and has called for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The body of Pooja, aged 20, was located in Sarya Gulab Rai village within the jurisdiction of the Nagara police station on March 23.
Police reports indicate that the woman took her own life after her boyfriend blocked her phone number, coinciding with her engagement to another man. It was noted that she had viewed a YouTube video on methods of suicide prior to her death.
Lalu Chauhan, a resident of the same village as the victim, and Ram Dulare from Mau district were arrested on Saturday for their alleged role in abetting the suicide and have since been remanded to jail following legal procedures. Dulare was scheduled to marry Pooja on April 25, as stated by Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh to PTI.
According to the SP, Pooja had communicated her distress to the two men before taking her drastic action, yet they failed to alert her family or the authorities.
The woman was reportedly in a state of despair after her boyfriend severed contact. This conclusion was supported by the post-mortem report, along with electronic and physical evidence, Singh noted.
Following a complaint from the victim’s family, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against four individuals from her village.
The complaint raised suspicions of murder; however, the post-mortem, which was recorded on video and conducted by a panel of medical professionals, determined that the cause of death was suicide, with no external injuries present on the body, according to the SP.
During the evidence-gathering process, technical data did not significantly implicate those initially named in the FIR. Current investigations suggest suicide, although further inquiries are ongoing, he added.
Pooja’s family has dismissed the police’s assertions.
Her sister Neha expressed to reporters that the police were presenting an inaccurate account of the events.
She maintained that her sister was a victim of murder and dismissed the assertion that she had viewed a YouTube video for guidance on suicide, emphasizing that such content is prohibited.
Neha called for a CBI inquiry into the matter, expressing her family’s distrust in the local police.
Pooja’s father, Dharamraj, who serves as a watchman at a police station, questioned, “How is it possible for someone to take their own life with their hands and feet bound?”
