Pics: Ramesh Pandith
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (CLP)
Mangaluru, Apr 9: A day after she was found hanging at her house in Ambalamogaru in Konaje, the parents of Bharati Priya (21) from Tamil Nadu, alleged that their daughter was murdered by her husband Vignesh.
Priya, who was heavily pregnant and just 10 days away from due date, was found hanging in her house on Wednesday April 8. The sari which was used for the act was found to be knotted into a noose on its other end also, raising suspicions that Vignesh may have pretended to attempt suicide to push his wife into doing the same.
Vignesh has been missing ever since the incident came to light.
Speaking to daijiworld at KMC hospital, Attavar where the post-mortem was conducted, Priya's parents Manimuli and Madi Alagan alleged that Vignesh had plotted with his parents and strangled Priya to death.
Hailing from Aranthangi in Pudukkottai district, Vignesh (24), a civil engineer by profession, and Priya, who was pursuing BSc in nursing, had fallen in love since their school days, but as they belonged to different castes, their families had opposed their marriage. They decided to leave their village in Tamil Nadu and got married in Ooty. After wandering around in different places for 8 months, they came to Ambalamogaru in January this year and took a house on rent.
Priya's parents said that as they were from lower caste and Vignesh was from upper caste, his parents and other villagers had beaten them up after the couple eloped, and thrown them out of the village as they were the only lower caste family in the vicinity. They were forced to live 40 km outside the village, they said, adding, "We had 4.5 acres of land but we were not allowed to stay there." The local police station had lodged a case of kidnap against the boy.
The parents claimed that the marks on Priya's body had indicated that she was strangled to death and then hanged. They alleged that after committing the act, Vignesh gathered his clothes and belongings and left the house after locking it up from the outside.
"He (Vignesh) used to often talk on the phone with his parents. Whenever Priya asked him what they said, he would not give any convincing reply. They were plotting something suspicious," alleged Priya's inconsolable parents.
"We demand that Vignesh is arrested and given severe punishment," they said.
Priya's body was handed over to her parents and the last rites were held at Nandigudda crematorium.