BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday expressed shock over the suicide of Bengaluru-based techie Atul Subhash but urged against using the example of a "wrong woman" to target other women. Subhash died by suicide on December 9, leaving behind a 24-page note and a video detailing alleged harassment by his wife and her family.
"His video is heart-wrenching," she said. "The case is infested with communism, socialism, and feminism. The extortion of crores, which was beyond his capacity, is condemnable. Nevertheless, we cannot use the example of a wrong woman to torture other women. In 99% of the marriages, the men are at fault."
Subhash's brother, Bikas Kumar, has lodged a complaint against Subhash's wife, her mother, brother, and uncle, accusing them of filing false cases and demanding Rs 3 crore for a settlement.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Whitefield, Shivakumar, confirmed the suicide, stating, “Atul Subhash committed suicide during the early hours of December 9. A complaint has been lodged at the Marathahalli police station in Bengaluru. Multiple cases were running against him in Uttar Pradesh. His wife and her family members demanded money from him to settle this issue and harassed him. For those reasons, he died by suicide.”
In his 24-page suicide note, Subhash repeatedly wrote, “Justice is due.” He accused his wife and her family of filing nine cases against him, including charges of murder, sexual misconduct, harassment for money, domestic violence, and dowry. He also implicated a family court judge in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur, accusing the judge of bias and a court officer of accepting bribes.
In the note, he called for his parents to be granted custody of his four-year-old son, whom he claimed had been kept estranged from him. The techie recorded a video before his death, requesting his family not to immerse his ashes until justice was served. He shared the note and video link with an NGO’s WhatsApp group.
Subhash's suicide has sparked intense debate over the alleged misuse of Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). On Wednesday, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa said that Section 498 A is being misused and has become a has become a 'tool for extorting money.' "I think it's a very serious matter. Being a criminal lawyer for now over three decades, I have seen how 498 A has been misused by our own people -- legal fraternity, police machinery, and the disgruntled women who have filed cases. This incident should be taken very seriously because the misuse of 498 A should be curbed because it affects the social fabric of our society."
"There are false allegations that are not only filed against the husband but also -- relative, the in-laws and others, they are all implicated in this and most of them are false. I am not saying that there are no genuine cases, there are but a majority of them are filed to persuade the husband to settle the matter through some money. Every day in Delhi HC, we have cases being settled between husbands and wives. There are hundreds of them, and why are they being settled -- because it involves money, it is being paid."