HYDERABAD: A 21-year-old speech and hearing impaired woman died by suicide at her residence in Meerpet on July 19, just weeks after an earlier attempt to take her own life. Following a complaint from her father, police registered a case of abetment to suicide against an RTC employee on July 20. The accused is currently absconding.According to Meerpet police, the accused is an RTC mechanic residing in Rajiv Gruhakalpa Colony, Almasguda. He frequently visited his brother, who lives in Old Almasguda. During these visits, he allegedly sexually harassed the woman, who lived in the house opposite his brother’s residence.“The woman was deaf and mute and worked as a tailor. On Saturday afternoon, she took her own life at her home. Her father later lodged a complaint, alleging that she took the extreme step due to sexual harassment by the RTC employee,” said Meerpet inspector K Nagaraju.Police said that three weeks ago, the woman had reportedly attempted suicide by slitting her throat with a blade. She survived and received medical treatment. At the time, police recorded her family’s statement. “No allegations were made against anyone in the earlier incident, and we treated it as an attempted suicide with a general diary entry. However, following her death, the family has now alleged that the earlier attempt was also due to stalking and sexual harassment by the accused,” the inspector added.Based on the complaint, a case has been registered under section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the accused, who is married and has two children. “He is currently on the run, and efforts are on to trace him,” police said.Police said the woman’s father, a mason, did not allege rape in the complaint. A postmortem was conducted on Sunday, and the body was handed over to the family.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
