40-year-old businessman kills self in Delhi; family alleges harassment by wife, in-laws

A 40-year-old bakery owner allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Model Town area of northwest Delhi, an official said on Wednesday.

The family members of the deceased, identified as Puneet Khurana, have alleged harassment by his wife and in-laws, police said in a statement. Investigators said the allegations are yet to be verified.

There was no immediate reaction from the Puneet's wife and in-laws.

"Khurana's father Trilok Nath has produced his (Puneet's) mobile phone and other related articles... (which) were taken in police possession. The body will be handed over to the family members after post-mortem," Northwest Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bhisham Singh said.

The DCP further stated said the incident was reported around 4.18 pm on Tuesday in Kalyan Vihar of Model Town.

"Soon after receiving information, a team was immediately dispatched to the location. They found Puneet unresponsive on his bed with a ligature mark around his neck, indicating death by hanging," the officer said, adding that further investigation is underway.

The DCP said the team also learned that the victim had recorded a video before his death. The victim's mobile phone has been taken under possession and ACP Rohit Gupta from Model Town is leading the investigation. The teams are verifying all the allegations made by the victim's family members.

Puneet's mobile phone has been sent for forensic examination, police said.

"We have received a complaint from the victim's father and will ask the family members from both sides to appear before the team. The team has already questioned the woman's family which has also made counter-allegations. It was revealed that the couple had spoken just a few hours before the suicide," the DCP added.

Puneet's body was transported to BJRM Hospital and preserved for a post-mortem examination. The police said a board of doctors would conduct the procedure if required.

While talking to reporters, Puneet's father levelled allegations against the deceased's wife and in-laws. He said they used to threaten him almost every day over financial and property issues.

Puneet's sister alleged that her brother committed suicide because of his wife and her parents who mentally pressurised him, harassed and provoked him to commit suicide.

"We request that justice must be done with our family and culprits must be sent behind bars," she added.

She further alleged that she got to know about her brother's suicide around 3 pm on Tuesday.

"He got married in December 2016 and had been staying separately from his wife for the last two years," she said.

A 15-minute purported audio clip of conversation between the couple went viral. In the purported audio, the couple engaged in a heated dispute over money and their co-owned bakery named 'For God's Cake'.

In the conversation, a woman can be heard abusing a man over the issue.

The clip also has references to the cafe, which had been closed some time ago. During the argument, the woman can be heard questioning why the man had called her at 3 am.

"Why are you calling me at 3 am? You have disgraced me and my family on multiple occasions. We did so much for you," she said.

In response, the man dismisses her grievances, saying, "All of this doesn't matter anymore. Just tell me what you want."

The argument continued as the man and the woman debated the sharing of social media account passwords. The woman also used abusive language.

Puneet's family members and friends have alleged that his social media account has been hacked. The allegation is being verified, the police said.

Some of his friends said Puneet was under acute pressure as his wife and in-laws were threatening him and his family members.

"Yesterday he called us and asked us to sit somewhere. He was very stressed as he was continuously getting threats from his in-laws. He was also under stress as they were threatening his parents too. This is the only reason he took such an extreme step," his friends told the reporters.

Sources said the police may call Puneet's wife and her family members for questioning.