Free The Astral Alibi by Manjiri Prabhu Page A

that Vidya had not been murdered, but that she had
committed suicide
!”
    A gasp escaped the other three.
    “Suicide!” Renuka cried in disbelief. “But why?”
    “With Mrs. Sahay’s sleeping pills?” Jatin demanded.
    “But she didn’t leave a suicide note,” Shinde added.
    “Vidya didn’t leave a suicide note because she did not
want
anyone to discover that this was a suicide! As we all know, Vidya was terribly harassed by her in-laws for dowry for a car. She knew that there was no way out of this mess. Especially since Parmeet, her husband, was incapable of keeping his parents from making such demands. But she wasn’t going to give in without a fight. She was fed up with life, but she also desperately wanted to teach her in-laws a lesson. She planned it well. She had a loud argument with her mother-in-law, loud enough for Kartik to hear, for she knew he was following her and would prove a perfect witness. She planned it on a night when her husband would be away, because she did not wish to drag him into it. Even in her last moments, when she wrote in her diary, there was no malice or resentment towards her husband. After the argument, she dissolved his mother’s sleeping pills into the glass of milk, and replaced the bottle in Mrs. Sahay’s cupboard. Then, at peace because she would finally have her revenge, she drank the milk. In the morning her husband found her dead.”
    A heavy silence ensued, as each grappled with the narration.
    At length, Inspector Shinde sighed. “But why go to so much trouble? Had she simply lodged a complaint with the police, the Sahays would have been booked in no time.”
    “But for harassment. And not for long. They would’ve been back home within months and with an appetite for vengeance. No, Vidya had to do this right. For good,” Sonia pointed out.
    “But to kill yourself…” Renuka murmured.
    “You’d be surprised at the mental torture and low self-esteem of these girls who are harassed for dowry. Demands are difficult to be proved. And facing the same intensity of harassment day after day is an ordeal one can only imagine.”
    “What about proof?” Shinde asked.
    “When you checked the bottle for prints, you found Vidya’s fingerprints on it, didn’t you?” Sonia replied.
    “Actually, we did, but since Vidya usually gave her mother-in-law the dose…Perhaps what you say may hold some truth.” The policeman shook his head in amazement.
    “The Sahays will go scot-free,” Renuka pointed out gloomily.
    “Not exactly,” Sonia added with a half smile. “I said Mrs. Sahay cannot be arrested for
murder,
but she can be charged for
provoking suicide
! Isn’t the fact of the death of a woman, within seven years of her married life, under suspicious conditions reason enough for a good lawyer to make a case? Besides, we cannot ignore the cause of the suicide. Harassment. Vidya was frustrated and fed up with the harassment and she killed herself to escape the constant dowry demands. Is that not reason enough for arresting Mrs. Sahay? Section 498-A? Section 498-A in the Indian Penal Code covers harassment—physical and mental torture, emotional torture through verbal abuse. Surely that could drive a woman to commit suicide. Under the law, if it is shown that soon before her death a woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband, or any relative of her husband, in connection with any demand for dowry, the persons are held responsible for this dowry death.”
    Shinde looked at Sonia and smiled. “You’re quite amazing!”
    Jatin glanced at his Boss in admiration. Didn’t he already know that?
    But anger flashed in Renuka’s eyes. “But Mrs. Sahay will be held for
harassment,
not a dowry death, thanks to you, Sonia. Why did you do this! Why did you spoil her plan?”
    Sonia reserved a dignified silence, allowing the girl to vent her feelings.
    “God knows they deserved the punishment! Now, because of you, Parmeet is a free bird—”
    “Vidya did not