Couple held for driving woman to suicide

A pregnant woman who was allegedly beaten by her neigbours in Bhat Nagar, Pimpri, over a petty dispute set herself on fire and succumbed to her burns after three days in hospital

Couple held for driving woman to suicide

Au00a0pregnant woman who was allegedly beaten by her neigbours in Bhat Nagar, Pimpri, over a petty dispute set herself on fire and succumbed to her burns after three days in hospital.

The deceased was identified as Jyoti Shivaji More (20), who was three months pregnant.

Police Inspector P D Dalvi said the Sheikh couple, who were her neighbours, had been arrested and charged under IPC Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 323 (voluntary causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult) and 34 (criminal intimidation where in more than one person is involved).

Tiff with neighbours
The police said her husband Ashok (22), a labourer, had on Thursday tried to bring back electricity after by connecting some loose wires after a power outage in Bhat Nagar, but his neighbour Noora Sheikh said he bring a new wire for the purpose.

The police said as it was quite dark, Ashok said he would get the new wire in the morning and would try to repair the lights by himself for the time being.

The police said this angered Noora and she started beating Ashok's wife, and Noora's husband also joined in. Other neighbours came to Jyoti's rescue and they shouted at Sheikh and his wife for fighting over such a trivial matter.

Humiliated
The police said Jyoti could not bear the humiliation suffered at the hands of her neighbours and that very moment she set herself on afire.

She was rushed to the nearby Yashwant Rao Chavan Memorial Hospital, and breathed her last on Sunday.

Ashok's brother Santosh said, "Jyoti was in much pain and she complained of a terrible stomachache instead of the burn injuries. She was calling her mother time and again but nobody knew of her whereabouts. Her father finally came to see her. These people (Sheikhs) should be severely punished for what they have done to our family."

Jyoti's body was later shifted to Sassoon hospital for a post-mortem.