A Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative (IAS) officer’s wife, who eloped with a gangster nine months ago, allegedly died by suicide after returning home, according to media reports.
The 45-year-old woman, who was a prime accused in two criminal cases, consumed poison last Saturday and left a suicide note addressed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, reported the Indian Express.
Ms Surya Jaya from Tamil Nadu committed suicide outside her husband Ranjeet Kumar’s house in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, reported NDTV.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Mr Kumar, who is a secretary at the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, had ordered the domestic staff not to let her enter the house. Ms Surya was facing two criminal cases, including one of child abduction.
She was admitted to the Gandhinagar Civil Hospital after consuming poison. However, she died the next day.
According to Mr Kumar’s lawyer Hitesh Gupta, the couple had separated last year and were heading for a divorce.
“Ranjeet Kumar had gone out to finalise his divorce petition with Surya on Saturday. Upset at not being allowed in the house, she ingested poison and called up 108 (an ambulance helpline),” said police.
The Gujarat police said the woman might have gone to her husband’s home to evade arrest from Tamil Nadu police in the child abduction case.
In her letter to the Tamil Nadu chief minister, the woman shared how she fell into a trap by a local gangster named Raja, who “lured” her. Later, she was entangled in two criminal cases where Raja was the prime accused.
One of the cases pertained to a loan recovery from a woman who had borrowed money from the gangster.
The other case involved the alleged kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy in Madurai on July 11 over a monetary dispute with the child’s mother.
Ms Jaya reportedly demanded a ransom of Rs2 crore ($321,000) from the mother along with the gangster, whose nickname is High Court Maharaja, and his aide Senthil Kumar.
The Madurai police managed to rescue the boy and launched a manhunt for those involved in the kidnapping.
According to the Indian Express, Ms Surya, in her suicide note, wrote that her “husband is a noble man, who took care of their children in her absence”.
