Date:28/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/28/stories/2006072821650300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Man attempts suicide after wife's death

Staff Reporter

The woman's father suspects dowry harassment; relatives stage protest

BANGALORE: A 35-year-old man stabbed himself with a knife and tried to end his life after his wife allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at their house in Vijayanagar police station limits on Thursday.

The police said Ramesh and his wife Bharathi (25), who were married for 18 months, were living in a flat at Vaibhava Apartments on 9th Main, Prashanthnagar. Around 10 a.m., Bharathi, a postgraduate in arts, allegedly hanged herself from a ceiling fan with her "duppatta." Hoping that she could still be alive, Ramesh brought down the body and called his brother Rudresh, asking him to come to his house immediately.

When Rudresh rushed to the flat, he found his brother lying in a pool of blood and his sister-in-law dead, the police said.

After he alerted the police, they shifted Ramesh to a private hospital. He is said to be out of danger.

Ramesh works as a network administrator at a computer firm in Vijayanagar, the police said.

After learning about Bharathi's death, her father Mari Gowda, an employee of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, and his relatives came to her house.

Alleging that Ramesh had murdered her, they refused to hand over the body to the police for autopsy.

At 4 p.m. the police shifted the body to Victoria Hospital.

Later, Mari Gowda lodged a complaint that Bharathi had committed suicide as Ramesh was harassing her for dowry, the police said. The Vijayanagar police have registered a case.

While Ramesh's parents lived in Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bharathi's parents were residents of Vijayanagar, the police said.