CHENNAI: A labourer was arrested along with his mother on charges of abetment to suicide after his 25-year-old wife hanged herself at their house following a domestic quarrel at Pulianthope on Saturday. In a twist to the case, the accused man, who had plunged down from the second floor on seeing his wife’s body, survived the fall.Investigating officer S Charles Sam Rajadurai told Express that the couple, A Rajesh (30) and Shalini, married in 2002 and lived with their two sons on the second floor of the house in Kannigapuram. Rajesh’s parents Anandraj and Jyothi stayed on the ground floor. The elder couple’s daughter committed suicide some time ago and Jyoti, who had been extremely fond of her, erected tents, organised music and distributed free food to commemorate her memory, the officer said. Her neighbours questioned her about the lavish spending for a dead daughter and neglect of her living son and daughter-in-law. Rajesh, an alcoholic, worked as a labourer. Jyothi occasionally gave him small amounts of money, but the family struggled to make ends meet, the inspector said.On Saturday, Jyothi had observed her daughter’s death ceremony in the usual grand fashion and neighbours pointed this to Shalini and heckled her. Around 11 pm, Shalini raised the issue with her husband, who only thrashed her in response and left. On returning home, Rajesh found her hanging from the ceiling and raised an alarm. His neighours pointed accusing fingers at him, saying his ill-treatment had forced her to take the extreme step.Rajesh panicked and jumped from the second floor on the asbestos roof below and then into a cot. He survived without any major injuries. The police intially registered a case under Section 174 (suspicious death). Acting on the basis of a complaint from Shalini’s brother Prakash that Rajesh and Jyothi were responsible for the death, the police conducted an inquiry. On finding the charges to be true, the case was altered to Section 306 and the two were arrested.
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