Pics: Meryick D'Silva / Ramesh Pandith
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (DV)

Mangalore, Jul 4: A young married woman allegedly committed suicide along with her toddler at Pachanady here on Friday July 4.

The deceased, Shruthi (24) reportedly jumped into a well along with her two-year-old son Pratheek.

Soon after the incident, the police took Shruthi's husband Ramesh Acharya into custody. Ramesh, hailing from Veeranagar, is a goldsmith by profession.

It is said that a few years ago Ramesh and Shruthi were staying in Puttur, and she used to come to Mangalore for a beautician course. An elderly man and a woman who grew friendly with Shruthi when she used to travel from Puttur to the city, came to Wenlock on hearing the news of her death. Speaking to reporters, they said that Shruthi used to tell them that she was unhappy in her marriage and was facing harassment too. They said that she had a lot of gold ornaments but they were allegedly taken away by her husband.

The couple had recently shifted to Shruthi's mother's house in Santoshnagar, Pachanady.

Ramesh's father said that Shruthi was a good person and she never created any problem.

Speaking to daijiworld, Shruthi's sister said that the family members were unaware of any problem that may have led Shruthi to take the extreme step. She said there was no apparent reason for suicide, adding, "We never thought something like this could happen. Shruthi had no problem with anyone. Her husband may have taken her gold to clear off debts, but he did so with her permission," she said.

Shruthi's husband was earlier working in Mysore, and then at a jewellery store in Puttur. Shruthi's parents had asked the couple to stay in their house at Pachanady, family sources said. Just last week, Shruthi had got a job in a beauty parlour at Shaktinagar, her sister said.

Explaining the events of the previous day, she said that Shruthi and her child went missing on Thursday July 3 morning. "She had placed pillows on her bed and covered them with a blanket, so we thought she was sleeping. When she did not come out of the room for a long time, we went to wake her up, but found only pillows under the blanket," she said. The family members then searched for her everywhere, but in vain. A missing complaint was then registered in the police station.

On Friday morning, they resumed the search, and Shruthi's father found the bodies in the well.

The bodies were shifted to Wenlock.

Kankanady rural police have registered a case and further investigations are on.