The Surat police are on the look out for a mamlatdar and her doctor husband, who works in the district government hospital, for their alleged involvement in the suicidal death of a married woman. The police have already arrested the woman’s father and mother-in-law and two others.
A complaint in this connection was filed by the deceased woman Monica Vekariya’s father Shantibhai Bhanderi, a tours and travel businessman and a resident of Sarthana. He lodged a complaint at the Utran police station against Tenish Vekariya (29), a diamond businessman at Telaviv in Israel, his parents Mansukh Vekariya, Praveena Vekariya, Parul (Monica’s sister-in-law) and her husband Jasmin Padariya, Neha Sawani (a mamlatdar with the Surat district collectorate department) and her husband Dr Nishant Sawani.
The police had registered an offence under IPC Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498 (A) (Husband or relative of woman subjecting her to cruelty), on February 13 and arrested Mansukh and his wife Praveena, Jasmin, and his wife Parul while the others are still absconding.
Bhanderi had in his complaint told the police that his daughter got married to Tenish on January 24, 2017 and stayed for a month after marriage before flying to Israel with her husband.
In the complaint, Bhanderi further added, Monica returned to Surat with her daughter Avira (2) in October 2022 to attend the marriage of her brother Fenil which was fixed on December 24 last year. Monica stayed with her parents for her brother’s wedding and after it got over, she started staying at her in-laws’ home in Utran while Tenish is still in Israel.
Bhanderi alleged that Monica was regularly mentally and physically harassed by her in-laws. Unable to bear the harassment, Monica consumed poison at her in-laws place. She was rushed to the SMIMER hospital where on February 12 she was declared dead by the doctors. Bhanderi further added, Monica had called him on February 1 mentioning that she has been physically and mentally tortured by her in-laws.
The police said they are also probing to find out the exact involvement of the mamlatdar and her husband.
Deputy Commissioner of police Zone 5 Harshad Mehta said, “We have arrested four persons in this case while two others — Neha Sawani and Dr Nishant Sawani — are absconding.”