Twenty-five-year old Ashwini used to live with her mother and sister in Bengaluru. Sometime last year she convinced her mother that she wanted to marry a man named Yuvaraj. In February, Yuvaraj, who is employed with a private company in Bengaluru, and Ashwini got married. It was only on 13 November that Ashwini opened up to her mother and sister about the harassment she had been facing from Yuvaraj and his family. She alleged that the harassment had escalated after an astrologer made a prophecy. On 14 November, Ashwini's family was told that she died of suicide.
The astrologer had predicted that Ashwini would not bear children and this exacerbated the harassment faced by the woman. Ashwini worked in the customer support department of a reputed online grocery store in Bengaluru. Her family alleged that Yuvaraj demanded expensive gifts and more dowry from Ashwini after the astrologer made the prediction.