Hyderabad techie dies by suicide after giving marriage ultimatum to partner on video call

A 29-year-old software professional was found hanging at her flat in Hyderabad on Sunday morning, hours after she allegedly threatened to end her life during a video call with a colleague over marriage, police said.

The woman, identified as Archana Chowdhury Malik, was a native of Uttar Pradesh and worked as a senior associate at a multinational company in Hyderabad’s Mindspace area. She had been in a relationship with the colleague, who is from Uttarakhand, for four years, according to police. Preliminary investigation revealed that the man was undergoing divorce proceedings.

According to police, the woman made a video call to her colleague at around 2.30 am on Sunday while he was attending a function with his mother. During the call, she allegedly showed him a scarf, or chunni, tied to a ceiling fan and threatened to end her life if he did not marry her, police said, according to news agency PTI.

The man reached her flat at around 5.30 am but found the door locked from the inside. Police were alerted through Dial 112 and forcibly opened the door, where they found the woman hanging from the ceiling fan.

A clues team inspected the scene and the woman’s body was shifted to Osmania General Hospital for further procedures. Police said a case had been registered and an investigation was underway. The circumstances leading to the woman’s death are being examined.

The investigation is ongoing and further details are awaited.