A 24-year-old man from Gujarat took his own life last week by jumping from the edge of the 1700-foot Konkankada cliff in Maharashtra, India. He is believed to have made the decision after a long period of mental anguish over a marital dispute. He blamed his wife for it.
NDTV reported online that the man, Vishwarajsinh Mayursinh Gohil, lived in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, and worked for the postal department. Before his death he recorded a 13-minute video in which he made a series of allegations against his estranged wife and her family.
Gohil married on 8 February this year, but the marriage ended within eight months. On 12 September his wife filed a case alleging domestic violence, and Gohil appeared in court in that case on 9 October. In the video he spoke of his despair and mental anguish over the marital dispute and the ongoing legal process. “When nothing is left in life and there is no hope, circumstances break a person,” he said.
“Especially when such a situation comes out of something good, out of a relationship, it crushes the soul,” he said. “We say marriage is a sacred bond that is meant to last many lifetimes. But in today’s modern age, when two people’s thinking, nature and habits do not match and conflict arises, people take the road to divorce.”
Making several allegations against his wife and her family, Gohil claimed they had described even everyday disagreements as domestic violence. “I had no idea then that such a storm was coming,” he said.
“Nothing of the kind happened in my home. Yet the case alleges that my mother, my brother and I abused and beat my wife. This is completely false and fabricated. When an FIR is registered, the police do not even ask for evidence or a medical report.” Gohil said mental, financial and social pressure was “pushing him towards death”.
He alleged that his wife’s parents had taken her from his home by force. “They claim the gold they gave is with us. But the truth is that when her parents were taking her away by force, she herself said she did not want to go. People in our community are witnesses to that,” Gohil said.
“She left wearing our gold jewellery. But when we ask for our own things back, nobody listens to us, and no pressure is put on them. All the pressure is put only on the boy’s family.”
He also questioned his father-in-law’s conduct. “My father-in-law used to tell me he was like a father to me. Does a father rob his own child, damage his state of mind and file a false case against him? A father forgives and gives his child another chance,” Gohil said. He then asked what would become of his parents, and of his 16-year-old younger brother, who has also been accused of domestic violence.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report