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Dead PhD Scholar's Father Says Should Have Saved For Her Dowry Instead Of Educating Her

Allegations of harassment by in-laws have surfaced.
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Family members of the 27-year-old PhD scholar, who apparently committed suicide in IIT- Delhi, have alleged that her in-laws used to trouble her.

Manjula Devak, a PhD student studying water resources, was found hanging at her flat situated in the IIT Delhi campus, at 7:38 PM yesterday.

While no suicide note was found in the flat, Devak's family accused her in-laws of discouraging her from pursuing higher studies, the police said.

They also accused the in-laws of demanding dowry, the police added. Manjula's family claim that her husband, Ritesh, wanted her to quit studying and start a business with him. He was also pressuring her for a ₹20-25 lakh dowry, reported the Hindustan Times.

Devak's bereaved father said that instead of educating his daughter and sending her to IIT, he should have saved up for her dowry.

Her family members have recorded their statement in front of a sub-divisional magistrate.

Davak was married in 2013. Her husband and in-laws live in Bhopal. Her family said they had arranged her marriage because it was a good match astrologically. According to Devak's mother, the couple had been living separately for a year but Devak did not want a divorce because she was worried about her family's reputation.

Devak's friends also recorded their statement in front of the SDM. The police have seized her laptop and are scanning her call records. Her colleagues have dismissed any speculation that academic pressure and stress led her to commit suicide. They said that she was doing quite well academically and her professors were happy with her work.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.