- Akriti Sutar died 72 days post-marriage in Delhi.
- Mother alleges dowry, job pressure, and physical abuse.
- Husband, in-laws accused of torture and harassment.
Mother of Akriti Sutar, a 28-year-old woman who died after 72 days of marriage, has alleged that her husband, Arastu Sikka and his family members were pressuring her to quit her job and bear a child. In her complaint, she has also alleged that her daughter was subjected to persistent harassment over dowry since her marriage.
Akriti, a sales executive working in Delhi's Chhatarpur area, got married to Arastu, the brother of her childhood friend Augustika, on April 24 this year.
According to a report by NDTV, Akriti's mother alleged in her complaint that she died the day she returned to work.
"Akriti met her husband Arastu through her sister Augustika, who was Akriti's school friend. The couple dated for two years before the love-cum-arranged marriage this year. Before marriage, Aakriti clearly told her in-laws that she would continue her job even after marriage because her brother Deepu is very young and she wants to support him financially," her mother stated in a complaint, according to the report.
She further added that the plan to marry proceeded only after Akriti's in-laws consented to her terms and assured her that she would be free to meet her mother and brother.
However, she added that Arastu's behaviour completely changed after the marriage and he asked Akriti to quit the job upon her return to work.
"When she requested to continue working, the family tried to create difficulties between her job and household chores so that she would be forced to quit her work on her own," the complaint added.
Akriti's mother, Anu Say Sutar, further claimed that the in-laws also abused her for talking to them from the maternal house. Additionally, her husband and Augustika also forced her to get pregnant and inflicted mental and physical torture.
In her complaint, Anu Say Sutar further claimed that on June 17, Akriti told her that Arastu had beaten her with a belt over missing a call from him as the phone was silent.
"Arastu used to accuse her of having illicit relations with some other person and claimed that is why she keeps her phone silent purposefully," she added.
She also claimed that on June 29, Akriti had told her that Arastu might kill her. She alleged that on the same day, Akriti was again assaulted for refusing to reheat the food for Arastu.
Fed up with this, Akriti went to Augustika's home to complain about the assault, but Arastu followed her and assaulted her again. Augustika and her husband pacified the situation on that day.
Akriti's mother said that on July 3, she called Arastu's father, requesting an intervention, but he was unaware of the dispute. He tried to scold Arastu but faced back abuse instead. Arastu allegedly shifted the blame on Akriti.
How did Akriti die?
According to Anu Sutar, Augustika called her on the night of July 4 and accused her of hiding Akriti. However, at around 9-10 PM, the police from Lodhi Colony police station answered Akriti's phone and asked the family to reach the police station.
Akriti had called her mother in the morning saying that she had left for work, but her phone went off after that.
Suspecting foul play, Akriti's brother Amay Sutar claimed that she was mentally strong and would never have taken the extreme step.