A city civil court in Bengaluru on Saturday granted bail to the wife, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law of 34-year-old Atul Subhash, who died by suicide earlier in December after alleging harassment by his in-laws.
The accused — Nikita Singhania, Subhash’s wife; Nisha Singhania, his mother-in-law; and Anurag Singhania, his brother-in-law — were arrested last week in connection with the case. They were charged with abetment to suicide based on a complaint filed by Subhash’s brother, Bikas Kumar, at the Marathahalli police station in Bengaluru.
Advocate Vinay Singh, representing Subhash’s family, expressed intent to challenge the bail order. “The bail has been allowed. We are waiting for the order sheet… Our argument was on factual information, on harassment. The suicide note has been sent to forensics but it has not been considered yet. His suicide video has also been sent to forensics. His handwriting is also being examined… We are with the entire family. We are fighting to get justice for the family… We will challenge it (bail order)… After seeing the order sheet, and analyzing it, we can approach the High Court of Karnataka,” Singh said.
Case details
Subhash, a resident of Munnekola in southeast Bengaluru and a native of Uttar Pradesh, was found dead in his apartment on December 9. He left behind a 24-page death note and an 81-minute video, detailing alleged harassment by his wife and in-laws.
The complaint filed by Kumar accused the family of extortion, claiming they demanded Rs 3 crore to withdraw cases against Subhash and Rs 30 lakh for visitation rights to see his son. Subhash, an employee of an automobile technology company, had been battling multiple legal cases, including allegations of attempt to murder, dowry harassment, and unnatural sex.
The accused were apprehended from various locations — Nikita from Gurugram, Haryana, and Nisha and Anurag from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh — and were produced in court before being sent to judicial custody.
Allegations and aftermath
The death note alleged that Subhash had been mentally and physically drained by ongoing court battles and claimed a family court judge in Uttar Pradesh was favoring his in-laws.
“My brother has been mentally and physically drained since the court battles began. He was constantly mocked and told to die if he couldn’t meet their demands,” Bikas Kumar stated in his complaint.
The Singhania family moved a joint bail plea on Thursday, which was approved by the court. The police investigation into the case continues, with forensic analysis of the death note and video pending.
Subhash and Nikita, who married in 2019, had been estranged for some time, and their legal battles reportedly took a significant toll on him.