Jalpaiguri: Four persons were arrested in Jalpaiguri’s Fulbari after a woman died by suicide on Saturday, after being assaulted and humiliated for an alleged extramarital relationship.
Sabita Barman had eloped with her neighbour, Sagar Roy, a week ago, following which their families lodged missing complaints. Sabita returned on Saturday but a group of locals refused to let her enter the neighbourhood.“My wife had called me asking to return. So I brought her back but she was barred,” Sabita’s husband Tapash said. Local panchayat member Malati Roy was called to the spot and Sabita was roughed up in her presence. “I was heckled as well. Roy kept mum throughout,” Tapash alleged.
Sabita then took permission to enter her house on the plea of relieving herself. When she did not come out after half an hour, Tapash rushed in to find her lying on the floor having taken pesticide. It took half an hour to take her to the nearest hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
Tapash lodged an FIR, following which NJP Police arrested Sagar, his wife Sibani and locals Swapna Adhikary and Brajen Adhikary. “Swapna had threatened to vandalise my house if I let my wife in. Sibani and Sagar’s father are equally responsible for my wife’s death,” Tapash said.
Sambhu Roy, the panchayat member’s husband, admitted that Sabita was assa-ulted. He told the media it was normal to get beaten up by neighbours in such cases.
The four arrested were produced in a Jalpaiguri court on Tuesday and sent to five-day police custody.