Pregnant woman found dead in lake at Hassan village, family alleges harassment by in-laws

HASSAN: A pregnant woman was found dead in a lake at Honnavalli village in the district on Thursday evening. The victim was identified as Vandana (24), hailing from Arkalgud. Her family alleges that she was harassed by her husband and in-laws, leading to her suicide.

Vandana had married Roopit, a resident of Honnavalli, 1.5 years ago. She was working in a medical facility, while her husband was unemployed and had a drinking problem. Her in-laws, Manjula and Revanna, also had a drinking problem and were allegedly harassing Vandana for money.

On Tuesday, a quarrel broke out between Vandana and her mother-in-law, after which Vandana went missing. Her body was found floating in the lake on Thursday evening. Vandana’s brother Deepak has accused Roopit and his parents of harassment, leading to her suicide.

“She had gone missing two days ago and we had filed a missing person’s complaint. Her husband was unemployed and the family constantly demanded money. My sister would give her entire month’s salary to her husband’s family”, Deepak said.

The police have recovered the body and are investigating the case. This is the second such incident in the family, as Vandana’s sister, Meghana, had also committed suicide a few years ago over a love affair.