New Delhi: Nine cases, charges of domestic violence and unnatural sex among others, stress from legal proceedings, and two “instances of instigation of suicide” in Jaunpur civil court — the note found near techie Atul Subhash’s body cited these grounds for his suicide.
In the 24-page-long note, the 34-year-old Subhash, who died by suicide Monday at his Bengaluru residence, blamed his wife, Nikita Singhania, her mother, uncle and brother for continuous harassment and bleeding him out of money in the name of Nikita’s maintenance. He also pointed fingers at a judge.
“I choose to commit suicide today that seems to be the best option. This will satisfy my wife and mother in law while stopping the funds to wage war on my family and me. It will also expose the corruption of the Judge and madness of this legal system against me and my old parents and brother,” he alleged in the note.
“I refuse to get harrassed and extorted by the legal system, my wife, my mother in law, my brother in law and uncle of my wife. I have come to the conclusion that till I will keep on working hard and creating values, me and my family will be extorted. I never ever thought that my competence would be used against me. The more money I will make, the more I will fight and the corrupt legal system and my harassers will keep on getting rewarded,” he documented his anguish in the suicide note.
“It took me a few months to make sure that I complete my pending responsibilities I had towards my family and finish my work commitments etc. Also a lot of government office work that also led to this delay in suicide. I hope this delay will not go against me and will not help harassers and extorters of me and my family,” he further said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield Division, Shivakumar told ThePrint that police officials from the Marathahalli police station recovered his body, along with the four-page suicide note.
Based on a complaint from Subhash’s family, Bengaluru City police booked his wife Nikita Singhania, mother-in-law Nisha Singhania, brother-in-law Anurag Singhania, and uncle of his wife Sushil Singhania—named by Subhash for “explicit instigation for suicide, harassment, extortion”—under sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (joint liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police officers further said that investigators are in the process of summoning the accused persons, considering the offence is non-bailable.
ThePrint contacted Nikita Singhania’s family through calls and WhatsApp messages but received no response. The story will be updated if and when a response is received.
Also Read: A ‘hoax’ bomb threat onboard IndiGo flight & ‘made-up’ stories—inside details of IB officer’s arrest
‘Continuous harassment, multiple cases’
In the suicide note that ThePrint has seen, Subhash claimed to have met his wife, Nikita, through a matrimonial website. They married in 2019. However, he alleged that two years later, Nikita left their home in Bengaluru in May 2021 after a financial dispute between him and her family.
The fall-out, Subhash alleged, happened because he sought Rs 15 lakh back from his in-laws. He had transferred the money for business purposes, but Subhash alleged that the family used it to purchase a Rs 1 crore-worth house. The suicide note further said that though his in-laws returned the Rs 15 lakh he had given, they were asking him to give Rs 50 lakh for the house—which he refused—followed by Nikita leaving their home.
“It became a routine to put pressure on me to give more money by my wife and mother in law after my mother in law came here to Bengaluru in my house. Additional demands included investing in the idea of Cloud Kitchen by my brother in law and keeping him here at my house which l was not agreeing to,” he wrote in the note.
“Apart from this, they pressured me to buy land in Jaunpur which I refused. They also pressured me to take their disputed property in lieu of Rs 30 lakhs that I refused,” he further wrote.
According to the suicide note, the first case against Subhash was in 2022 under sections related to murder, unnatural sex, dowry and criminal intimidation. Despite this case being withdrawn later, Subhash alleged that another case under similar sections was still pending against him.
In a second case filed in 2022, his wife sought Rs 2 lakh/month maintenance from him. Last year, she allegedly moved a plea in the Allahabad High Court, seeking the expedition of the case filed against him under 498 A (cruelty against women by their husbands or their relatives) and 125 (order for maintenance of wives, children and parents) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Another plea filed in the Allahabad High Court sought more money for maintenance under section 125 of CrPC.
“I have also not seen or talked to my child in the last 3 years despite filing multiple applications in the court and pleading with my wife. In her petition of CrPC 125, my wife has demanded Rs 2 Lakhs/month for maintenance of my 2 year old son and herself despite being a well educated working woman making good money,” Subhash wrote.
“At the beginning of the case, My wife, her mother and Sushil Singhania were demanding Rs 1 Crore for settlement. This amount rose to Rs 3 crore after the interim maintenance of Rs 20000 per month since the time of order. This amount is likely to further rise after the maintenance and arrears payment of Rs 80000 per month that has been awarded for my 4.5 year old son with increased harassment and extortion of mine and my family,” he added.
Besides the suicide note found near his body, Subhash left another suicide note with an NGO, Save Indian Family Foundation, where he was receiving counselling. He also recorded a nearly 81-minute-long video describing the sequence of events mentioned in the suicide note and uploaded it online.
‘Instigation of suicide’
In the suicide note, Subhas referred to two instances that compelled him to take the step of ending his life.
Describing the first, Subhash alleged that during a case hearing before a family court judge in Jaunpur in March this year, when he referred to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on suicide due to false cases, his wife smirked at him and asked why he does not commit suicide.
Subhash alleged that the judge laughed at his wife’s comment and sent her outside the court, asking him then to settle the matter with compensation and that she would take Rs 5 lakh as commission.
Describing the second instance of instigation, Subhash alleged that outside the courtroom, on the next date of hearing in April this year, his mother-in-law asked him why he had still not committed suicide after talking about it before the judge in the last hearing.
Subhash alleged that in his response to her comment, he asked, “How will your party continue if I commit suicide?” His mother-in-law then responded, saying it would continue irrespective of that because his wife, Nikita, also had a fair share in his paternal property.
“I kept walking frustrated and helpless and understood that I have become the very Source of all the evil. The more I work hard and become better at my work, the more I and my family will be harassed and extorted and the whole legal system will encourage and help my harassers. It seems that Devi Saraswati herself made my mother in law disclose her plans and the solution of all the problems too.”
“This incident along with instigation to commit suicide from my wife Nikita Singhania and the face of the laughing Judge Rita Kaushik mocking my helplessness has rendered my faith in legal system destroyed and has prompted my action of committing suicide. Now, with me gone, there won’t be any money and there won’t be any reason to harass my old parents and my brother. I may have destroyed my body but it has saved everything I believe in,” Subhash alleged in the suicide note.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
I think he has done corrective action, to save his family from being harassed. which I would have done , because our nations law system in this regard is totally hopeless, and give women more than required favour . Which they take undue advantage off.
I can very well understand the trauma he had been in, because I myself has gone through it.
Request to the Govt authorities to make divorce a simple and easy process without forcing the male person with financial burden.
When we talk about men and women are equal ( means equality) then why men are financially burdened for it. In case of divorce.
Suicide is cowardice. He should have fought it till the end and become a role model for other men suffering due to false cases by wife.
Incredibly sad to see such a thing happen. Unfortunately, nothing tangible will come of this in terms of changes in legislation and/or procedures because this is not an issue that will get votes for any political party.