A 19-year-old man in Maharashtra's Sangli district died by suicide after being forced to convert his religion as a condition for marriage, and police filed a case of abetment of suicide against a man and a minor girl.
In the latest development, Sangli City Police on Tuesday arrested Sahil Bagwan, a relative of the minor girl, and the minor was also arrested in connection with the case. Police said the investigation is ongoing and the details leading to the youth’s death will be established once all evidence is gathered.
According to investigators, the 19-year-old, a resident of Khanbhag in Sangli, died by suicide at his home on June 25 around 10 a.m. and noon. He was employed in Pune and visited his family regularly in Sangli.
Police said that the deceased was acquainted with the minor girl, who frequently visited an elderly woman living near his neighbourhood. The two were later in a relationship and had decided to get married.
According to the family’s complaint, the girl told the young man that he would have to convert to her religion if he wanted to marry her. The family has said that in the days before his death, this demand caused him profound emotional distress.
The superintendent of police Tushar Doshi said investigators had recovered chat records exchanged between the deceased and the minor girl during the probe.
"We have arrested Sahil Bagwan of Sangli, a relative of the minor girl accused in the case. During the investigation, we recovered chat records between the deceased and the minor accused," Doshi said.
Senior Police Inspector Arun Sugaonkar said preliminary investigation suggests the two came into contact while the girl visited a relative’s house in Sangli.
"During the investigation, we found chats in which the minor accused mentioned religious conversion. But as the girl is a minor, we can only see the true reason behind the death of the victim after a thorough investigation," Sugaonkar said.
The victim’s family investigated his mobile phone after the incident and found conversations on Instagram and other social media sites supporting their claim that the demand for religious conversion was there as well.
Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother, Sangli City Police registered a case against the minor girl and Sahil Bagwan, who is suspected of helping her.
Police are currently collecting digital evidence—chat records and social media communications, for example—and have asked cyber experts to retrieve other electronic evidence.
A case has been registered at Sangli City Police Station under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation is ongoing and more action will be taken based on the evidence gathered during the investigation, they said.
