Tiruppur: A 27-year-old newlywed woman, Ridhanya, died by suicide in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur reportedly due to constant dowry-related harassment by her husband and in-laws. Police found her body inside a parked car after she allegedly consumed fumigant pesticide tablets.
Ridhanya, daughter of garment business owner Annadurai, was married to 28-year-old Kavin Kumar in April this year. As part of the marriage arrangements, her family reportedly gave 100 sovereigns (800 grams) of gold jewellery and a Volvo car worth ₹70 lakh as dowry.
According to police sources, Ridhanya left home on Sunday, stating she was visiting a temple in Mondipalayam. When locals noticed a car stationary for a long time, they alerted the authorities. Upon inspection, police found her unresponsive inside the vehicle, with foam at her mouth. Her body was later sent to the District Government Hospital for a post-mortem.
Before her death, Ridhanya is said to have sent seven audio messages to her father on WhatsApp, apologising and detailing the alleged mental and physical abuse she had been enduring. In the messages, she accused her husband and in-laws of subjecting her to daily torture and said the marriage was a “trap” laid by them.
“I don’t want to be a burden to you all my life,” she said in one of the messages. “They are assaulting me mentally while he is torturing me physically. I can’t carry on like this anymore.”
Her grieving relatives gathered outside the hospital demanding justice. Police have arrested her husband Kavin Kumar, father-in-law Eswaramoorthy, and mother-in-law Chithradevi. An investigation is ongoing.
