A newlywed woman died under suspicious circumstances at her home in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, barely a year after her marriage, with her family alleging dowry harassment and murder. The woman’s in-laws, however, claimed she died by suicide.

The deceased, identified as Palak Rajak, had reportedly called her father around 20 minutes before her death, pleading to be taken away from her in-laws’ house. Family members alleged she had been subjected to continuous mental and physical harassment over dowry demands.

According to police and family members, Palak was married to Amit Rajak, an outsourced employee with the Air Force, on April 14, 2025. Her family alleged that despite giving gold, silver, a motorcycle and other items during the wedding, the husband, mother-in-law and brother-in-law continued demanding a car and a gold chain. They also claimed that fixed deposit receipts given during the marriage were encashed by the in-laws.

Palak’s relatives alleged she was repeatedly harassed after marriage, isolated inside the house and even denied food.

According to her father, Palak called him on the night of May 12 and said nobody in the house spoke to her and that she had not eaten properly for three days.

“Papa, take me away from here. They keep demanding a car and a gold chain. They are harassing me continuously. These people will kill me,” she allegedly told her father over the phone.

Her father told her he would send her brother to bring her home. The family said Palak sounded frightened and was crying during the call.

Around 20 minutes later, her husband Amit allegedly called the family and informed them that Palak had hanged herself.

When her relatives reached the house, she was already dead. The family claimed there were injury marks on her neck, legs and other parts of the body, raising suspicion of murder. Angry relatives later staged a road blockade protest, demanding a fair investigation, videography of the postmortem examination and a forensic probe.

Palak, who regularly made social media reels, reportedly had around 10,000 followers online.

Meanwhile, the in-laws claimed that Palak had locked herself inside a room. Her father-in-law, Babulal, reportedly told police that when he returned from the market, his younger son informed him that Palak was not opening the door. After breaking open the door, the family allegedly found her hanging from a ceiling fan and rushed her to hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Police said the case was being treated seriously as the death occurred within a year of marriage. Senior police officer Robin Jain said the woman’s family had levelled serious allegations and a detailed investigation was underway based on the postmortem report, medico-legal examination, forensic findings and statements of relatives.

Source: India Today