A tragic incident happened in Udupi district where a businessman died by suicide just a month after his marriage, and the police are looking into it.
Sudeep Shetty, a resident of Nelyadi Taluk of Kadaba township, had consumed poison on March 17. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Mangaluru for treatment. Despite a long battle for survival, he finally died on March 29 after being kept in several hospitals for advanced care.
At the sub-registrar office of Puttur, Sudeep had signed his marriage with Soumya Shetty on February 17. The couple later performed wedding rituals at a temple. Despite Sudeep’s family’s opposition to the marriage, the marriage was allegedly in trouble within a week.
Police confirmed that the relationship between the couple deteriorated after weeks of marriage. Rumors that Soumya had met Sudeep three days before the incident and even threatened him have not been confirmed.
Following Sudeep's death, his father Damodar Shetty filed a complaint at the Karkala Town Police Station to accuse his daughter-in-law Soumya Shetty of abetting his son’s suicide. The investigation based on the complaint has been made and it’s pending.
On the other side, Soumya Shetty categorically denied the allegations and stated Sudeep himself had contacted police to say he had eaten poison and he was okay for some days after the incident and was later hospitalized for food poisoning/jaundice.
Soumya explained that Sudeep was under severe financial hardships and had debts of lakhs of rupees which she understood before agreeing to the marriage. She helped him in building his real estate business and even accompanied him to property sites.
Soumya countered other allegations about her personal relationship but added that she had one previous marriage, which ended in divorce nearly nine years ago: it was because she had a problem with harassment and there was no longer a spouse for almost nine years (and no one she’s friends with in her theatre circle).
She said Sudeep had first contacted her on Facebook for a while, and had been trying to engage her for almost a year before he even suggested marriage. She maintained that he had already understood her past and the marriage was indeed consensual for her and for both families initially.
Soumya said family opposition to their marriage may have also played a role in Sudeep’s anguish. She might take her case in a counter complaint and has asked the police to conduct a fair probe into the situation.
Police have said they’re reviewing all angles, such as personal, financial, and even family factors and are analyzing them to determine which aspects are most important to them.
