Pregnant Bengaluru techie dies by suicide over alleged dowry harassment
Shilpa Panchangamath, 27, a former software engineer with Infosys, was allegedly harassed for dowry by her husband Praveen and his parents
A 27-year-old pregnant woman was found dead in her Bengaluru residence on Tuesday (August 26) in a suspected case of suicide.
The victim, Shilpa Panchangamath, allegedly faced dowry harassment and physical and mental agony from her husband and in-laws. Based on a complaint from Shilpa's mother, Sharada, the Suddaguntepalya police registered a case and arrested Shilpa’s husband, Praveen.
According to reports, the couple got married on December 5, 2022, and they have a one-and-a-half-year-old son. Shilpa worked as a software engineer at Infosys, while Praveen worked at Oracle.
After one year of marriage, Praveen quit his job and started a business. Meanwhile, Shilpa got pregnant with her first son. After delivery, she quit her job to take care of her son.
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Dowry harassment allegations
In the complaint, Shilpa’s mother said that ahead of the wedding, Praveen’s family demanded Rs 15 lakh and 150 grams of gold, and they readily provided the dowry to them.
But four months ago, Praveen’s mother, Shantavv, pressured Shilpa to get Rs 5 lakh more to support Praveen’s business. When the demand was not met, Shilpa’s in-laws allegedly assaulted her and sent her to her parents' home. Other reports suggest that Shilpa’s mother-in-law repeatedly abused her for her appearance, as well.
Shilpa’s mother managed to get Rs 5 lakh and reconciled Shilpa with Praveen. However, the harassment reportedly continued. On August 26, when her parents received a call from Praveen’s family, they were told that their daughter had died by suicide.
According to media reports quoting Saradha, Praveen’s family initially told her Shilpa died of a heart attack. Later, they told her that Shilpa had ended her life. She was supposedly pregnant when she killed herself. Police booked Praveen, and an investigation is underway.
Also Read: Nikki Bhati’s ‘dowry death’ probe takes new turn with fresh evidence
Surge in dowry deaths
In recent weeks, several dowry death cases have been reported across the country. Just last week, Nikki Bhati of Greater Noida died after she allegedly went through dowry harassment. She was set ablaze by her husband, Vipin, it was reported. Police subsequently arrested Vipin.
In June, 27-year-old Rithanya ended her life just two months after her marriage in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. When she married Kavin Kumar in April, her family reportedly gave dowry of 800 grams of gold and a Rs 70 lakh-worth Volvo car. However, within a few weeks after her marriage, she was pressured for more money to support his business.
(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)