NRI booked for wife's suicide in Sharjah detained at airport in Kerala

The husband of a woman who was found hanging in their apartment in Sharjah last month was detained at the Thiruvananthapuram airport here on Sunday and handed over to the police, an officer said.

40-year-old Satheesh, a native of Sasthamcotta in Kollam district in Kerala, is alleged to have abetted the suicide of his wife, Athulya (29), who was found hanging in the couple's flat under suspicious circumstances on July 19, the officer added.

An officer of Valiyathura police station said that there was a look-out notice against the man, and when he landed at the airport, he was detained by immigration officials and then handed over to the police.

"We have detained him at the station and he will be handed over to the Crime Branch which is investigating the case," the officer said.

Following a complaint by Athulya's parents, an FIR was registered by the Chavara Thekkumbhagam police against Satheesh under multiple section 85 (abetment of suicide of a woman), section 115(2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), section 103(1) (cruelty by husband or relatives), and section 118(1) (wrongful restraint or confinement) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

He has also been booked under sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

According to the FIR, the accused had allegedly harassed his wife since their marriage in 2014, over "dissatisfaction with the dowry". The complaint states that two days before her death, he "physically assaulted her, hitting her on the head with a plate and kicking her in the stomach".