Villagers Block Road After Woman's Suicide Following Family Assault in Ghaziabad

The villagers blocked the Loni-Bhaopura Road on Saturday

GHAZIABAD: A 45-year-old woman died by suicide after consuming poison, days after her family was allegedly assaulted by relatives of a 14-year-old girl who had eloped with her 21-year-old son. Her husband alleged that the family was subsequently harassed by the officer in-charge of the local police outpost, who passed lewd remarks about his wife. The woman, according to her husband, consumed poison on Sept 30 and died during treatment at Delhi’s GTB Hospital late on Oct 2. Her death triggered a protest on Saturday, when relatives and villagers placed her body outside Teela Mod police station and blocked the Loni-Bhaopura Road, demanding action against the outpost in-charge and the girl’s family. The chain of events began on Sept 11, when the girl’s father, a driver from Farrukhnagar, lodged a complaint alleging that his 14-year-old daughter had been lured away. He named a 21-year-old youth from the same village and expressed apprehension of an untoward incident. Police registered an FIR for kidnapping under Section 137(2) of the BNS. According to woman’s husband, the girl’s mother and brother arrived at their home on the night of Sept 29 with 10-12 persons and assaulted the family. They allegedly told his wife to consume poison and die, and threatened to kill their son if he was found. The next day, the couple went to Farrukhnagar police outpost to lodge a complaint. The husband alleged that outpost in-charge Satyajit, instead of hearing them out, threatened to harass them if they failed to recover the girl or persuade their son to return home. Later, the woman was found unconscious on a road near their home and rushed to GTB Hospital, where she died during treatment. Doctors said she had consumed poison. The husband, who earns a living by selling vegetables from a cart, said he had himself been searching for his son and had repeatedly informed the outpost in-charge that he could not trace him. He further alleged that Satyajit threatened the couple over phone, abused them and behaved indecently with his wife. He claimed they were repeatedly summoned to the outpost and beaten up. Their phone recordings with Satyajit were deleted as well, he alleged. Rijual, DCP (trans-Hindon zone), said police had taken custody of the mobile phone and sent it for forensic examination to recover the deleted recordings. Till late on Saturday, the family had not yet submitted a written complaint. Meanwhile, the girl’s father said his son, who works as a driver for a company, had befriended the youth while the latter worked in loading and unloading vehicles at the same company. As both families lived in the same village, the friendship deepened and the youth began visiting their home. The girl’s brother also visited the youth’s house.