Athulya's husband arrested in Kerala, accused of abetting wife's suicide

Thiruvananthapuram: The husband of a woman found hanging in their Sharjah apartment last month was detained at Thiruvananthapuram airport on Sunday and handed over to police, officials said. Satheesh (40), a native of Sasthamcotta in Kollam district, is accused of abetting the suicide of his wife, Athulya (29), who was found hanging under suspicious circumstances on July 19.

An officer from Valiyathura police station stated that a lookout notice had been issued against Satheesh. He was detained by immigration officials upon arrival and handed over to the local police. “We have detained him at the station and will hand him over to the Crime Branch, which is investigating the case,” the officer said.

Satheesh’s lawyer told reporters that his client returned from Sharjah after the Kollam Principal and Sessions Court granted him anticipatory bail. Under the bail conditions, he can only be arrested by the Crime Branch and must be released upon furnishing a bond of Rs 2 lakh and two sureties for the same amount. The lawyer said this decision was based on Athulya's death certificate, which recorded the cause of death as “suicide by hanging.”

Following a complaint by Athulya’s parents, the Chavara Thekkumbhagam police registered a case against Satheesh under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 85 (abetment of suicide of a woman), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), Section 103(1) (cruelty by husband or relatives), and Section 118(1) (wrongful restraint or confinement), along with provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

The FIR alleges that Satheesh harassed his wife since their marriage in 2014 due to dissatisfaction with the dowry. It states that two days before her death, he physically assaulted her by hitting her on the head with a plate and kicking her in the stomach.

With inputs from PTI