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The case related to the unnatural death of a young woman witnessed a twist when the Ernakulam Rural police in Kerala on Monday (August 11, 2025) arrested her friend on charges of abetment to suicide and alleged sexual abuse on the promise of marriage. The arrested was identified as Rameez, 24.
The 23-year-old woman was allegedly found hanging in her house at Kothamangalam on Saturday (August 9, 2025). Initially, the Kothamangalam police registered a case of unnatural death. However, the police stumbled up on a suicide note, reportedly written by the deceased, during the preparation of mahazar on Sunday.
“Based on the accusations in the suicide note, we took the accused into custody on Monday. After interrogating him, we have invoked additional charges against him. The two had been batchmates during graduation at a college in Aluva and had decided to marry. However, Rameez seems to have backtracked and had not been attending her calls or even responding to her messages of late. He also blocked her on WhatsApp,” said the police.
The accused has been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means etc) and 108 (abetment to suicide). He was also booked under BNS Section 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) on charges that he slapped her.
Though the suicide note allegedly accused Rameez and his family of allegedly attempting to convert her religion, the police said that “other than the usual friction when two persons were from different religions, there was nothing much to read into it for the time being.”
The victim’s family has also since then allegedly raised the question of conversion. The police, however, said the two families have had reconciled to the marriage despite the difference in their religions.
“Even the victim seems to have agreed to convert and her only condition was that she would not stay at the house of the accused. She insisted on moving out on rent, which the accused seems to have stonewalled. That, coupled with the indifference shown by the accused to the victim of late, seems to have led to the death. However, we will further investigate and see if more people are involved,” the police said.
(Suicide prevention helpline: Disha – 1056, 0471-2552056)
Published – August 11, 2025 02:14 pm IST
