Newlywed Woman Ends Life As Husband's House Had No Toilet, Her Family Claims

A newly married woman ended her life a month after tying the knot in India. Her mother told cops that the woman was distressed over her husband’s house not having a functional toilet, according to local reports.

The deceased woman, identified as K Ramya, 27, from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was a postgraduate and a pharmacist at a private hospital. She was in a relationship with Karthikeyan, an employee of a private company, for two years before marrying him on April 6.

Ramya left her husband’s home and started living with her mother a few days after the wedding because of the absence of a functional toilet in her husband’s house, India Today reported.

The couple had repeated arguments over the issue, and Ramya reportedly asked her husband to find a house with a toilet in the city of Cuddalore.

Karthikeyan started work on having a toilet installed in the house, according to The Times of India. However, Ramya was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her mother’s house on May 6.

The mother had returned home to find Ramya struggling for breath as she hung from the ceiling. The woman was rushed to the hospital and underwent treatment for a couple of days before passing away Monday.

Kavitha, a local police officer, said no suicide note was found following the incident. The mother said in her complaint that Ramya was unhappy about the toilet issue in Karthikeyan’s house, Kavitha added.

Cops are also investigating whether Ramya’s relationship with her father had anything to do with her death. Her father reportedly did not approve of her relationship with Karthikeyan and had an estranged relationship with the deceased woman.

Other reports said Ramya was being harassed by her in-laws before her death.

NDTV reported that Karthikeyan’s family maintains the claim that Ramya ended her life because the house did not have a toilet. On the other hand, the outlet also reported that the deceased woman’s family accused Ramya’s husband and in-laws of harassing her.

"They asked for more gold and a motorbike for the husband," Ramya’s uncle, Pandian, said according to the outlet. "He came here the other day and beat her up.”

District Superintendent of Police Shakthi Ganesan told NDTV, “Some issue had cropped up between them and that's why she had left for her home. We learn she asked her husband to at least take a house with toilet on rent but he had not acted.”

When Ganesan was asked whether the issue over the toilet could have led to Ramya taking her own life, he said: “We doubt. That could be one of the reasons. She is an educated person and we doubt that is the only reason.”

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.