Nikita Singhania, the wife of deceased techie Atul Subhash, and her kin were arrested by the Bengaluru Police, said reports. The arrest of Nikita, her brother Anurag and mother Nisha, comes as the trio filed an anticipatory bail plea in Allahabad High Court, which is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The Bengaluru Police put up a notice outside the Singhania residence in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur on Saturday. The notice read that there were "reasonable grounds to interrogate them" and directed them to appear before the investigating officer in Bengaluru within three days. The Singhanias were reportedly not at home when the notices were posted. There were also reports that the Bengaluru police had already detained them when the notices were pasted.
The Singhanias, who have been charged with abetment to suicide, were arrested from Prayagraj. They were produced in court which remanded them to judicial custody.
The suicide of Subhash, a Bengaluru-based techie, had triggered widespread outrage after he posted a 90-minute video before taking his own life. He accused his wife and her relatives of harassment, stating they demanded Rs 40,000 per month for maintenance but later increased it to Rs 1 lakh. He also accused a court officer of seeking ₹5 lakh to "settle" the case.
"I feel that I should kill myself because the money I earn is making my enemies stronger. That same money will be used to destroy me, and this cycle will keep going," Subhash stated in the video.
Nikita had reportedly filed over nine cases, including dowry harassment, against Subhash. She claimed that Subhash had demanded Rs 10 lakh as dowry, and the harassment affected her father's death, leading to his demise. She also accused Subhash of physically assaulting her and treating the marital relationship like a beast.
Subhash's brother Bikas Kumar had filed a complaint against Nikita, her mother, brother Anurag, and uncle Sushil Singhania after the incident. His family alleged that Nikita said Subhash "should commit suicide if he cannot pay the amount to which the judge also laughed."