Flight attendant’s husband held for dowry death; 2nd autopsy done

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 16

The police on Monday arrested the husband of Lufthansa flight attendant, Anissia Batra, who allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the terrace of her house on Friday.

DCP-South district Romil Banniya said a police team from Hauz Khas interrogated Mayank Singhvi for over an hour and arrested him after booking him under Section 304B (dowry death) of the IPC in the evening. He will be produced before the magistrate on Tuesday.

Mayank, a software engineer in Gurgaon, told the police that they had “compatibility issues” and used to have regular fights. They were married for two years. Anissia’s family had alleged harassment for dowry.

Anissia, in her 40s, allegedly jumped off the terrace of her house on July 13. Her husband took her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared brought dead. 

A board of five doctors conducted a second autopsy at AIIMS on Monday and the procedure was filmed on family’s request, said the DCP.

“We are investigating all possible angles. We have learnt that Mayank and Anissia had recently bought a flat in Vasant Kunj, which he later sold. 

They used to have regular fights over this,” the DCP said. A senior police officer said Mayank’s BMW car, Anissia’s diamond ring and their mobile phones had been seized. Mayank’s family had gifted the car on his last birthday and his parents were paying the instalments.

A notice has been served on the parents and other witnesses to join investigation, he said. The bank details of the two had also been sought.

The DCP said a forensic team had been called to reconstruct the crime scene.

Before allegedly jumping off the terrace, Anissia had sent a message to her husband around 4.15 pm threatening to kill herself. At 4.30 pm, she allegedly committed suicide.

During initial investigation, it has come to light that Anissia had sought her parents’ help hours before her death, the DCP said.

Anissia’s brother Karan Batra accused the police of shoddy handling of the case. He alleged that the house where Anissia allegedly committed suicide had been sealed, but the next day he found it accessible.

Alleging tempering of evidence, Karan claimed Mayank had visited his Panchseel Park house a day after Anissia’s death to change clothes. He again came to the house and took car keys and some belongings. Mayank had also deleted his social media account, he alleged.