Visakhapatnam: Setting at rest all suspicions, the Visakhapatnam police affirmed on Friday that the 24-year-old Guruvelli Swetha died by suicide, as there were no marks of injury on her body.
Addressing the media on Friday, city police commissioner Trivikram Varma said “Swetha was fed up with the harassment from her husband and in-laws for additional dowry and a piece of property.” She was also upset with the sexual harassment by her husband’s brother-in-law, he said.
Swetha's semi-naked body was found under suspicious circumstances on YMCA beach in Vizag city on Wednesday morning. The police recovered a suicide note purportedly written by Swetha.
The commissioner said Swetha’s husband G Manikanta, a software professional, used to force her to have a piece of her land registered in his name. “He often harassed Swetha over the 90 cents of land located in Mulapet in Srikakulam district.”
Swetha was a resident of Dondaparthy locality in Vizag city, married to Manikanta, a resident of Pedagantyada in Vizag city, in April last year. Her mother Bhagadi Rama, a widow, works as a staff nurse in the railway hospital.
The investigations also revealed that Swetha made an attempt to end her life in the past due to harassment by her husband and in-laws. Swetha, also faced sexual abuse by her husband’s brother-in-law, Y Satyanarayana alias Satyam, police said.
Swetha’s mother Bhagadi Rama, in her complaint, blamed the woman’s in-laws. She alleged that they began harassing her a month after the marriage and her husband threatened to divorce her.
According to Rama, a dowry of ₹ 12 lakh in cash and 250 grams of gold ornaments were given to Swetha at the time of her marriage.
A case has been registered against Swetha’s husband Manikanta, his father Santa Rao, mother Pushpavati and brother-in-law Satyanarayana under Sections 304 (B), 498-A, 354 r/w 34 of IPC and Section 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act-1961. All the four were arrested from their homes on Wednesday.
