Atul redux: Agra techie kills himself, blames wife

Manav Sharma, a resident of Defence Colony in Agra, worked as a manager with a tech firm in Mumbai. He married Niketa on January 30 last year. He ended his life on Monday (February 24).

The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident after registering a case under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to a complaint filed by the deceased's father, Narendra Sharma, on Thursday, Manav and Niketa came to Agra on February 23.

Manav then accompanied Niketa to her parents' home, where he was reportedly insulted. He returned home and hung himself around 5 am on February 24.

The FIR said, "Applicant Narendra Kumar Sharma's son Manav married a resident of Agra according to Hindu customs without dowry on January 1, 2024. Since the marriage, Niketa did not behave well with the applicant's son and other family members. She used to get furious over small things and start fighting."

The FIR said Manav used to work in Mumbai, so he took his wife with him there, where Niketa used to allegedly fight with him every day and allegedly used to openly threaten him that she would die by suicide and get him trapped in a case.

"Manav came to Agra from Mumbai with his wife on February 23 and went to his wife's maternal home in Agra, where her family members humiliated him and instigated him to die by suicide. He ended his life by hanging himself on February 24," the FIR added.

As the video went viral, Niketa released a counter-video, alleging that Manav was abusive, especially when intoxicated, and had made suicide attempts previously.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Vinayak Bhosale said Manav's post-mortem was conducted on February 24, but no formal complaint was filed at the time.

Manav's sister later saw the video on his phone, leading to the registration of a case.

"We will consider Niketa's version of the events as well. Appropriate action will be taken based on our probe, Bhosale said, acknowledging that the couple's relationship was troubled.

The incident bears similarities with the death of Atul Subhash in Bengaluru on December 9, 2024. Subhash too ended his life after recording a video, claiming harassment by his estranged wife. — Agencies