Ballia woman death: Two arrested; family rejects police claim of suicide, demands CBI probe

Ballia (UP): Two persons have been arrested here in connection with the alleged suicide of a young woman, whose body was found hanging from a tree with her hands tied, police said on Sunday.

The accused have been charged with abetment to suicide, a senior police official said.

The woman's family, however, maintained that she was murdered and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.

The body of Pooja, 20, was found in Sarya Gulab Rai village in the Nagara police station area on March 23.

According to police, the woman committed suicide after her boyfriend blocked her number as her wedding had been fixed with another man. She watched a YouTube video on how to commit suicide before hanging herself, police said.

Lalu Chauhan, a native of the woman's village, and Ram Dulare of Mau district were arrested on Saturday for abetment to suicide and sent to jail after legal proceedings. Dulare was to marry Pooja on April 25, Superintendent of Police (SP) Omveer Singh told PTI.

Pooja had informed the two before taking the extreme step and despite that, the two did not inform her family or police, the SP said.

The woman was distressed after her lover blocked her phone number. The conclusion was drawn based on the post-mortem report, electronic evidence (call recordings) and physical evidence, Singh said.

On a complaint by the woman's family, an FIR was registered against four people from her village, he said.

The complaint expressed suspicion of murder. But the post-mortem examination, which was videographed and conducted by a panel of doctors, revealed suicide as the cause of death with no external injuries found on the body, the SP said.

During evidence collection, technical data did not strongly implicate those initially named in the FIR. The probe so far suggests it was a suicide but further investigation is underway, he added.

Pooja's family rejected police claims.

Her sister Neha told reporters that police were presenting a false narrative.

She insisted that her sister was murdered and refuted the claim that she watched a YouTube video to know how to commit suicide as such videos are restricted.

Neha demanded a CBI investigation into the case, citing her family's lack of faith in police.

Pooja's father Dharamraj, who works as a police station watchman, said, "How can someone commit suicide with their hands and feet tied?"