“Sharmila was inconsolable for weeks. She lost her husband at such a young age,” Praveen’s mother told The Quint.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
(Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide, casteist violence. Reader discretion is advised.)
Two months after G Praveen, a 22-year-old Dalit man, was allegedly hacked to death by his brother-in-law and four others – in a suspected case of caste killing – his wife Sharmila died at a government hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai on Monday, 22 April, following an alleged suicide attempt.
According to Praveen’s family, Sharmila, 21, allegedly attempted suicide on 14 April and was undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai. She passed away at around 7:10 pm on Monday.
“Since Praveen’s death, she (Sharmila) was lifeless. We were trying to move on, but never did we think she would end her life. All this has happened due to caste. Is our caste important than our lives?” Praveen’s mother Chitra (43), a homemaker, told The Quint over a telephonic conversation on 23 April.
In a written complaint submitted to the Tambaram Commissioner just hours before Sharmila’s death on 22
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.