Jaunpur: The mother-in-law and brother-in-law of techie Atul Subhash, who died by suicide in Bengaluru after years of alleged harassment and legal threats by them and his estranged wife, have gone untraceable after being spotted fleeing their house in UP’s Jaunpur on Wednesday night with the police now launching a manhunt from them.
Even though the in-laws were caught on camera fleeing in the dead of the night by reporters camping outside their house, police came looking for them after they finally got a communication from their Karnataka counterparts and a team from the southern state arrived in Jaunpur on Thursday.
34-year-old Atul Subash, a techie in Bengaluru died, by suicide on Monday allegedly due to harassment by his estranged wife and her family. A case of abetment to suicide has been registered against his wife, Nikita Singhania, along with her mother Nisha, father Anurag, and uncle Sushil.
In-laws fled house late night
Hours before the police came, Nisha Singhania and her son Anurag, also known as Piyush Singhania, left their home in the Khowa Mandi area on a motorcycle at around 1 am and have not returned since. Purported video clips circulating on social media show them leaving the house.
Seeing the house locked, the police team put up a notice on the gate and launched a search after phone numbers were also found switched off.
A four-member Bengaluru police team, led by sub-inspector Rajiv Kumar, arrived in Jaunpur in the evening and met Superintendent of Police Ajay Pal Sharma to coordinate the investigation.
Mithilesh Mishra, SHO of Kotwali police station, confirmed that the police team had received a copy of the FIR filed in Bengaluru and proceeded to kotwali for further action. The Bengaluru police team is expected to visit the in-laws’ residence in Khowa Mandi next.
While Nikita’s family lives in Jaunpur, she currently lives in Delhi with her son and works there, according to her relatives. Nikita married Subhash in April 2019 but filed an FIR against him and his family in 2022, accusing them of dowry harassment.
Atul’s in-laws demanded Rs 3 crore to drop charges
Atul left behind a 24-page suicide note and an 81-minute video, in which he detailed alleged harassment by his estranged wife Nikita and her family. He also accused the family court judge of bias. However, Atul’s lawyer, Mishra, stated that the court’s orders were under the law.
According to the FIR filed by Atul’s brother Bikas, Nikita and her family allegedly demanded Rs 3 crore to drop police cases against Atul and Rs 30 lakh for visitation rights to see his four-year-old son. Bengaluru police have registered a case against Nikita, her mother Nisha, brother Anurag, and uncle Sushil Singhania.
