‘Dowry Laws Being Used As Weapons’: Lawyers, Activists Demand Action In Bengaluru Techie’s Suicide – News18

Last Updated:December 11, 2024, 09:02 IST

After Atul Subhash’s suicide, activists and lawyers have emphasised the systemic bias against men in matrimonial disputes, with calls to address the misuse of dowry laws.

34-year-old Atul Subhash, who died by suicide

A First Information Report (FIR) should be registered against the police officers whose names were mentioned by techie Atul Subhash, before he died by suicide on December 9, a lawyer has suggested. This came hours after the 34-year-old’s suicide led to a massive public outrage on Tuesday.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Mumbai-based lawyer Abha Singh said, “A 34-year-old young techie, Atul Subash, died by suicide in Bengaluru and he has left behind a suicide note, mentioning that nine police complaints had been registered against him, including false charges of murder, dowry harassment and domestic violence.”

“The suicide note mentions that it was not true and that the man was paying his wife Rs 2 lakhs and despite that, she was not letting him see his son. He also mentioned that his son was being used as a tool for blackmailing him.”

“A case of abetment to suicide must be registered against her and her relatives. An FIR should also be registered against the police officers who have registered false cases against him. This is a gross misuse of law, and dowry laws shouldn’t be misused,” Singh said on Tuesday.

Also commenting on the matter, Barkha Trehan, a Men’s Rights activist told ANI, “Atul Subhash is not the first man, lakhs of such men have died. Atul Subhash was compelled, and the system has failed.”

“There is a lot of biasedness in the system, only women are heard and not men. Men are tortured and threatened, cases under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 498 are deliberately registered against men and the Supreme Court has observed that 95 per cent of these cases are false,” she said.

“The laws made for women’s safety are being used as weapons,” she added.

ATUL SUBHASH SUICIDE: FIR AGAINST WIFE, HER FAMILY

As the matter grabbed the attention of more activists and lawyers, the Marathahalli Police registered an FIR against four people, including the techie’s wife Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha Singhania, brother Anurag Singhania and uncle Sushil Singhania.

The case, under sections 108 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), against the four was registered following a complaint by Atul’s brother, Bikas Kumar.

Further investigations into the case were underway.

‘HE MUST HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATED’: TECHIE’s FATHER

Speaking to ANI over his son’s death by suicide, Pawan Kumar, Atul Subhash’s father, said his daughter-in-law used to frame multiple charges against his son and that his son must have been frustrated.

“He had said to us that those in the mediation court do not work as per law, not even as per the rules of the Supreme Court. He had to go to Jaunpur from Bengaluru at least 40 times,” Atul’s father said.

“She (the deceased’s wife) used to frame one charge after another. He must have been frustrated but never let us feel that. Suddenly, we received the information about the incident – he sent a mail to our younger son around 1 am,” he added.

On the allegations levied by his son against his wife and her family, Kumar said, “Those are 100 per cent true. We cannot express the level of tension that our son would have been in.”

ATUL SUBHASH’s DEATH BY SUICIDE SPARKS OUTRAGE

Thirty-four-year-old Atul Subhash, hailing from Uttar Pradesh and working at a private firm in Bengaluru, hanged himself to death on Monday, leaving behind a 24-page suicide note.

In the note, Atul accused his wife, her family members, and a judge of “explicit instigation for suicide, harassment, extortion, and corruption.”

He had also shot a 90-minute video of himself detailing his case.

The incident occurred in the Manjunath Layout area, which falls under the Marathahalli police station limits.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Subhash had been facing marital discord with his wife, and she had registered a case against him in Uttar Pradesh, a senior police officer told news agency PTI.

He also sent his death note via email to several people and shared it with a WhatsApp group of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) he was associated with, the officer said.

According to the police, Subhash hung a placard in his house that read “Justice is due”.

Before taking the extreme step, he allegedly pasted important details on a cupboard, including information about his death note, vehicle keys, and a list of tasks he had completed and those still pending, the officer said.

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