Raped on pretext of marriage, teen hangs self to death in Palghar; kin blame cops

Palghar, October 4

A 19-year-old woman allegedly hanged herself to death at her home in Maharashtra’s Palghar district after she was raped by a man several times on the pretext of marriage, police said on Sunday.

The woman’s kin, however, claimed she was depressed after being chided and humiliated by police officials while lodging a complaint against the man.

A senior police officer said the allegations levelled by the woman’s family will be probed.

The man lured the teen to a friend’s house and raped her several times.

He had promised to marry her but started ignoring her marriage requests by making excuses like temples are not open during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, a police official said.

A case was filed on September 15 and the man arrested, he said.

“She hanged herself on Friday night and a probe is underway to find out the reason behind her extreme step,” the official said.

According to a suicide note recovered from the spot, the woman took her life because she was unable to marry the man, the police said.

The police official said two more such “suicide notes” have been found in the woman’s notebook, and they are being verified.

Her family, however, said the teen was depressed as she was humiliated by police officials while filing the complaint against the man.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijaykant Sagar said the allegations of the woman’s kin are being verified and action will be taken against personnel of the concerned police station if they are found to be true. PTI