Industrialist found dead at home

A 32-year-old woman, director at an Indore-based company, was found dead at her home here, a week after she filed a dowry harassment case against her in-laws in Madhya Pradesh.

Police said Akanksha Rathi, a director at Rathi Iron and Steel, was found dead on October 23. She had a dupatta wrapped around her neck, but police also suspect that she might have taken an overdose of sleeping pills.

“All these angles are being probed since we received information about her death from her father,” said a senior police officer. Akanksha was a winner of an Outstanding Entrepreneurs Award-2009, conferred by the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards.

She died at her father’s house at Sansad Vihar Society in Dwarka sector 3. Her father and a domestic help found her in her room, and rushed her to Rockland Hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

“We received a call from the hospital that a woman named Akanksha was brought to the hospital by her father but was declared dead on arrival. Then we took the body to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for a post-mortem,” the officer said.

During investigation, police found that Akanksha’s husband Anirudh Rathi died on September 4 in Indore due to a heart attack. After his death, she came to Delhi.

She first tried to stay at Anirudh’s house in Malviya Nagar, but found it difficult. She then moved to her father’s house in Dwarka.

Akanksha went to Indore and lodged a complaint of dowry harassment against her in-laws and three other family members with Mahila Thana on October 16.

Akanksha’s father in his statement to the police said she was undergoing treatment for depression for the last three years. Her body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem.

Police said they can’t ascertain right now if the victim committed suicide or was killed.
“We are waiting for the autopsy report,” said the officer. Police suspect that Akanksha’s in-laws were unhappy with the marriage.