Mumbai police have launched an investigation after a 41-year-old man, Nishant Tripathi, was found dead by suicide in a hotel room. Before taking the extreme step, he left a note holding his wife, Apoorva Parikh, and her aunt, Prarthana Mishra, responsible for his decision.
Tripathi, who had checked into the Sahara Hotel three days before the incident, had reportedly put up a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign outside his room. When the hotel staff received no response for an extended period, they used a master key to enter and discovered him dead. Authorities were immediately informed.
In a significant development, the police have registered a case of abetment to suicide against Parikh and Mishra based on a complaint filed by Tripathi’s mother, Neelam Chaturvedi, a known women’s rights activist. However, no arrests have been made yet.
Before his death, Tripathi uploaded his suicide note on his company’s website, securing it with a password. The note expressed his love for his wife despite the circumstances.
“By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. In my last moments, I could have hated you for everything that happened. But I don’t. For this moment, I choose love. I loved you then. I love you now. And as I had promised, it’s not going to fade,” he wrote.
Addressing his mother, he added, “She knows that among all my struggles, you and Prarthana Mausi are also responsible for my death. So I beg you, do not approach her now. She’s broken enough. Let her grieve in peace.”
Grief-stricken, Tripathi’s mother shared an emotional post on Facebook, mourning her son’s loss. “Today, I feel like a living corpse. My life is over. My son Nishant has left me,” she wrote. She further revealed that her daughter, Prachi, had to perform her brother’s last rites.
The tragic incident has reignited discussions on the need for gender-neutral laws, particularly concerning suicides linked to alleged harassment by a spouse’s family.
Tripathi’s case follows similar distressing incidents. Just days earlier, a software engineer from Agra, Manav Sharma, died by suicide, leaving behind a video blaming his wife. In the seven-minute recording, he spoke about the necessity of legal protection for men. His wife, however, denied the accusations and countered with claims of domestic violence.
In another case from December, a Bengaluru-based tech professional, Atul Subhash, took his own life, alleging mistreatment by his wife and in-laws. His death sparked widespread debate on whether existing laws adequately address cases where men face harassment.
A similar tragedy unfolded in Delhi, where a 40-year-old café owner ended his life, citing mental torment from his wife and her family.
These cases have intensified demands for a legal framework that ensures fairness in addressing domestic disputes, regardless of gender
