A 29-year-old woman, who was a teacher at a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi, India, was found dead in her home in Vasundhara on Sunday, March 16.
In a heartbreaking final WhatsApp message to her family, she expressed the emotional turmoil she experienced at the hands of her husband, Gaurav Kaushik.
“He married my job, not me,” she wrote, sharing her distress over her in-laws’ desire for “a working maid” and her husband’s constant criticism of her.
Describing her in-laws as a family that only knew how to take, she revealed the anguish she endured.
Two individuals, including her husband, have been arrested in connection with the case, while her mother-in-law, Manju, is currently on the run, according to police.
Anvita articulated her pain and frustrations in the last line of her message, which she directly addressed to her husband: “I have prepared food, Gaurav Kaushik, please eat it.” She also requested her parents to care for her four-year-old son, stating, “I don’t want him to become like his father.”
Kaushik, a doctor in Delhi, along with his father Surendra Sharma, were taken into custody after Anvita’s family filed a complaint alleging dowry harassment, as announced by police on Monday, March 17.
Charges against Kaushik, Sharma, and Manju include sections under the Indian Penal Code for cruelty, dowry death, and intentional insult, as well as violations of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
Indirapuram ACP Abhishek Srivastava shared that the incident occurred around 1:30 PM on Sunday while Kaushik and their son were out. Upon receiving Anvita’s message, her family attempted to reach her but could not get through. They informed Kaushik, who returned home only to find the door locked from the inside. He and the family forced entry through a window.
Anvita and Kaushik had married on December 12, 2019, and had a four-year-old son together. Anvita had been employed as a PGT fine arts teacher at the school since October 2019.
In her message, Anvita revealed the severe pressures she faced, writing, “My husband wanted a beautiful, hardworking wife who also had a job. I tried my best, but it was never enough. They wanted someone who would focus solely on the in-laws, while my parents and brother were also important to me. No mother-in-law could have belittled me as much as my husband did over the past five years.”
Expressing her exhaustion from pretending to be happy and concluding with a plea to care for her child, she wrote: “My husband has access to my bank accounts and chequebook. Please take care of my child. I love him dearly and want him with you.”
Anvita’s father, Anil Sharma, subsequently filed a police complaint leading to the FIR. He stated he spent 26 lakhs on the wedding, providing numerous household items, gold, and silver jewelry to her in-laws, and claimed that following the marriage, Kaushik and his family subjected Anvita to both physical and mental harassment, pressing for additional dowry.
Sharma detailed that her husband and in-laws held onto her entire salary, chequebook, and ATM cards against her will. He alleged that when Anvita requested her possessions, she faced physical assaults and verbal abuse. “On March 16, they subjected my daughter to severe harassment, which drove her to write a suicide note and take her own life,” he lamented.
