The father of Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash who died by suicide, said his son had been "broken from inside" after multiple cases were filed against him and his family by his wife.
Atul Subhash, the 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, died by suicide on Monday in his Bengaluru apartment, leaving behind a 24-page suicide note, accusing his wife and her relatives of harassment.
In his suicide note, he also alleged that a judge had demanded Rs 5 lakh to "settle" the case.
"My son used to say that there is a lot of corruption but he will fight as he is on the path of truth. He was broken from inside, though he didn't tell anyone anything," Subhash's father Pawan Kumar told ANI.
Kumar, who currently stays in Bihar's Samastipur, said Subhash's wife started filing cases against them in January 2021.
"She started filing cases since January 2021. My son had thought that she had left (their home) after Covid and that their 1-year-old son would grow up a little at his maternal uncle's home. She also started filing cases against our entire family," the father said.
Earlier, a four-member team of Bengaluru Police, including one woman police personnel reached Kotwali in Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. Jaunpur is the residence of Subhash's in-laws.
The father has alleged that the judge overseeing the case also asked for Rs 5 lakhs to "settle the case".
"When they went ahead for mediation, it began from Rs 20,000 and then escalated to Rs 40,000; then the judge said that if he (the deceased) wants a settlement, he should give Rs 5 Lakh," the father said.
Meanwhile, the brother of the deceased, Vikas, said his family had "no idea" that the Bengaluru techie would take such a drastic step.
"We talked to him normally. We had no idea he had decided to take such a step. We had never felt he was going to take such a step. I am in touch with a few of his friends and even they didn't have any idea of his thoughts," the brother said.
The brother also alleged that there had been "false cases" filed on him and his family too, saying that his brother had been mentally tortured.
"False cases have been filed on me, and my parents, just like they were filed on my brother. Action should be taken against all those who mentally tortured my brother and filed false cases against him," the brother said.
He further claimed that Atul Subhash also wrote to various leaders and institutes, including the President and the Supreme Court, explaining his situation in detail.
"If those emails have reached them, we hope action is taken and some laws, forums, or committees are made where men can go to seek justice. Laws and provisions made to empower women are today being misused," the brother added.
Earlier on December 11, the SC also expressed concern over the growing tendency to misuse Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which penalises cruelty by husbands and their relatives against married women.
While quashing a Section 498A IPC case against a husband and his parents in a different case, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh said that the Section became a tool for unleashing personal vendetta against the husband and his family by a wife.
Atul Subhash died by suicide in the early hours of December 9 after alleging harassment from his wife and her family. Subhash wrote "Justice is due" on every page of a 24-page note. He also alleged in his suicide note that his wife had filed nine cases against him under various sections, including murder, sexual misconduct, harassment for money, domestic violence, and dowry.
