Telangana Dalit police aspirant dies by suicide over marriage refusal

Hyderabad: A 24-year-old police aspirant from the Madiga community (Dalits) was found hanging by her saree from the ceiling of her house in Nadivada village, Mahabubabad district, Telangana.

Sushmitha’s hanging body was found by her parents, Kumarswamy and Sukanya, who, along with their other daughter, had gone to attend a function on the evening of November 12.

She aspired to join the Telangana Police force and was preparing for the examination.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) N Tirupathi Rao, Sushmitha left behind an 18-page suicide note, accusing her neighbour and boyfriend, Anil, of refusing to marry her and forcing her to take the extreme step.

Anil belongs to the upper-caste Goud community. They were allegedly in love for nearly two years and even promised to marry her.

Later, he took a U-turn and reportedly refused, citing their different castes. Whenever Sushmitha raised the issue of marriage, Anil referred to objections from his family and friends about marrying a Dalit woman.

She blames Anil for forcing her to take the step and expressed regret at not fulfilling her dream of joining the police force and making her parents proud.

“We have registered a case under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and abetment to suicide against 11 persons, including Anil, his parents and the village sarpanch. There has been no arrest so far, as the investigation is still going on,” DSP told Siasat.com.

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