On 9^th February, an Ahmedabad-based orthopedic surgeon along with his parents and sibling are booked for abetment to suicide following death by suicide of his 42-year-old wife.

The police informed that Dr Hitendra Patel, an orthopedic surgeon working at Devam Orthopedic Hospital at Sola in Ahmedabad, his parents Manu Patel and Subhadra Patel and Deepu Patel his sister were being booked in an FIR at Ghatlodia Police Station on 9^th February’s night. The FIR was lodged after Hitendra’s wife Harsha Patel allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison on the same day. She was a native of Odhav in Ahmedabad.

Harsha and Hitendra got married on 28^th August 2020 and had no children. As per the police, the victim had left an 18 page long alleged suicide note in a book accusing Hitendra for getting married to her “only for sexual favours” and also alleged that her in-laws tortured her for dowry.

YR Vaghela, police inspector, at Ghatlodia Police Station said that the victim consumed poison on 9^th February after she had met her husband at Devam Hospital and then was rushed to Civil Hospital in Sola where doctors declared her dead while giving treatment. The victim’s father Nanjibhai filed an FIR against Hitendra and his parents under IPC sections 306 (abetment to suicide), IPC 114 (offence committed when abettor present) and sections of the dowry prohibition Act.

The police have found an 18-page long suicide note that was written by the victim in a notebook after which they have also included the name of Hitendra’s sister Deepu Patel in the FIR. They also added section 377 for unnatural sex and section 328 for causing hurt by means of poison. The whole family has been absconding since the incident happened and the police teams are formed to arrest them.

The victim’s father Nanjibhai Patel’s has given complaint that Harsha Patel was firstly married 15 years ago with another man however they got divorced after eight months. Also, the accused Hitendra is also a divorcee and the couple had met through a marriage bureau. The couple got married on 28^th August 2020 with limited guests due to COVID-19 restrictions.