nagpur :- 20-year-old woman found dead in mysterious circumstances

A 20-year-old woman was found dead in mysterious circumstances at her residence at RK Layout, Wanjra Nagar.

Sarfunisha Ansari was found hanging from the ceiling hook on Monday afternoon. There were several head injuries and strangulation marks on the neck, and the family of the deceased demanded an immediate probe into the death. Yashodhara Nagar cops had a tough time controlling the situation.

According to the victim's family, the deceased had married Juned, who is a helper in a private company, two years ago. A few months later, she complained that her in-laws were harassing her over trivial issues. The couple has a one-year-old son, who was with his grandmother when the lady allegedly committed suicide.

Though the deceased was found hanging from a dupatta, her tongue was not protruding from the mouth as is usually seen in hanging cases. Also, certain injury marks were seen on the body, said a cop, adding that examining the crime spot also left many questions unanswered.

"There were burn injuries on both hands. Strangulation marks on her neck clearly show she was throttled by a rope. The dupatta can't make such deep rashes," said a relative Latif Sheikh, a Congress worker.

The parents of the deceased alleged that Sarfunisha had been tortured by her husband and brother-in-law from the past few months. The victim had last spoken to her parents on Sunday night and complained about Juned demanding dowry. "She told them that the previous night, she had been beaten severely by her husband and brother in-law," said a relative.

The neighbours of the deceased too complained that they had heard screams of the victim on Sunday night, which continued till morning. "The cries stopped at around 10am," said a neighbour, adding that an hour later they saw Juned and his younger brother leaving the house.

Police said the suicide came to light when the deceased's mother in-law went to call her. She alerted the neighbours who brought down the body, said a cop.

The family alleged that Juned and his brother were missing for almost five hours after the incident. "When we tried to call them, the cell phone was not reachable," said Sheikh. He claimed that the duo might have killed Sarfunisha and hanged her to misguide the cops.

"We are waiting for the post-mortem report, however after primary investigations we have registered a case of accidental death," said a cop from Yashodhara Nagar police station.