(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs.)
In a disturbing incident from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, a man named Sanjay Gupta filmed his wife while she was attempting to hang herself. Though the woman stepped down in this instance, she allegedly killed herself hours later on Tuesday, 25 October.
Married for five years, Shobita Gupta apparently had a fight with her husband after which she tried to kill herself in front of Sanjay Gupta.
Instead of making an attempt to stop her, the husband filmed her and said, “Great. Yehi tumhaari soch hai. Bahut kharab soch hai (This is your mindset. You have a very bad mindset)." The woman took off the cloth tied to the fan and stared at her husband over his remarks.
'We Could Have Saved Her': Woman's Father
Speaking to The Quint, Raj Kishor Gupta, the woman’s father said, “The incident was filmed at around 12.30 in the afternoon. She had stopped then. It was later around 2.15 pm that the incident happened.”
An First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the husband and other unknown persons, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 304B (dowry death), Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Sections 3 and 4.
“I don’t know why he did not stop her. He could have at least informed us and we could have saved her,” the woman’s father said.
After the alleged suicide, Sanjay Gupta called the woman’s family informing them about what had happened.
When Shobita’s family rushed to her home, they reportedly found Sanjay giving CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the woman’s body.
He then showed his in-laws the video he had filmed, claiming that he had saved her on her first attempt.
"We saw him pumping her chest instead of taking her to the hospital. He showed us a video saying she had attempted suicide earlier too," Raj Kishore Gupta was quoted as saying.
Shobita's family took her to the hospital, where she was declared dead. They later went to the police.
The father's complaint reads, “My daughter was wedded to Sanjay Gupta five years ago. She used to tell me that since the beginning of their marriage, she was harassed by her husband and her in-laws. On Tuesday, 25 October, I was informed that my daughter was harassed again and a video of my daughter was made. I got to know of her death right after. The reason for my daughter’s death is her husband and her in-laws.”
Babupruva ACP Alok Singh informed that a case has been registered against the husband and that he has been taken in for questioning. Meanwhile, the woman's body has been sent for post-mortem.
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