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Sharjah woman death: Dowry case filed against husband in India
The 31-year-old Indian woman from Kerala allegedly died by suicide after taking the life of her infant
Days after the alleged suicide of a woman after killing her infant daughter in Sharjah, a case has been registered at the Kundara Police Station in Kerala against Nidheesh Valiyaveettil, her husband, and his family.
According to The New Indian Express, the husband is a native of Kottayam in Kerala, and his family has been booked for dowry harassment.
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Indian media reports said the action follows a complaint filed by the victim’s mother, Shailaja, who alleged that her daughter faced dowry harassment, as well as racial and mental abuse, over the last few years.
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The woman and her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter were found dead in their apartment in Sharjah on July 8. “The family claims the mental and physical abuse increased after the birth of the child and pushed her daughter to take the extreme step,” TNIE reported.
According to Indian media reports, the victim had been living in Sharjah for the past two years. The reports also mentioned that her husband had been pressuring her for a divorce and subjecting her to regular physical and psychological violence.
Abdullah Kamampalam, a Sharjah-based social worker, shared a handwritten note with Khaleej Times, believed to have been written by the woman before her death. The note, written in Malayalam, contains details of her married life, emotional distress, and alleged abuse.
Portions of the letter have also been circulating on social media, a which sparked concern and conversations around domestic abuse and mental health within the Indian expat community.
Khaleej Times spoke with one of the victim’s friends, who said that she had often spoken about being mentally and physically tortured. “She told us many times that she was being pressured for money. A few months ago, she moved to a different place with her daughter and didn’t share the location with her husband,” said the friend, who wished to remain anonymous.
“But her husband contacted all her friends, trying to find out where she lived, and eventually he traced her location just a few days before the incident,” the friend added.
In the early days of the marriage, the woman appeared happy and was settling into family life. “Things changed after her father-in-law started demanding dowry nearly two years later. After that, even her husband turned against her. When their daughter was born, he didn’t want to take responsibility or care for the child,” that friend said.
She also revealed that the woman had shared concerns about her husband allegedly being involved in an extramarital affair, which added further strain to the relationship.
[Correction: This report was updated to rectify inaccuracies related to the woman's age and time spent in the UAE.]
SM Ayaz Zakir
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.
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