PATRARCHY IS MISOGYNY & FEMICIDE

US: Outrage after Indian-origin woman, tortured for not bearing son, commits suicide

Mandeep Kaur was found dead after releasing a video on social media explaining how she faced daily beatings, infidelity for 8 years



By NI
Published: Sat 6 Aug 2022

The suicide of 30-year-old Indian-origin woman Mandeep Kaur, who went to New York after getting married and was tortured by her husband for not bearing a son, has left millions shocked in India and abroad.

Kaur hanged herself, but not before releasing a heart-rending video narrating excruciatingly painful details of the torture she faced at the hands of her husband Ranjotveer Singh Sandhu, sparking a storm on social media.

Many questioned why Sandhu was still allowed to keep the couple's minor daughters, while the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case of abetment to suicide and domestic violence against her husband and in-laws. American authorities have also begun their own probe.

Speaking to ANI, the victim's sister Kuldeep Kaur divulged the horrific details of what Mandeep went through on a daily basis for nearly eight years, since the day she was married.

"My sister was married in February 2015. Soon, they went to New York and he started torturing her. He wanted a son and wanted Rs50 lakh in dowry," said Kuldeep Kaur.

An FIR has been registered at the Najibabad Police Station of Bijnor in UP against the husband and her in-laws. A case has been registered in Najibabad Police Station of Bijnor District on August 5 at 6.33pm under sections 306 (Abetment of suicide), 498-A (Domestic violence), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) and Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, a police official said.

The FIR was filed by Jaspal Singh, father of Mandeep Kaur, wherein he accused Mukhtar Singh, father of Ranjotveer Singh Sandhu, Kuldeep Raj Kaur, mother of Ranjotveer Singh Sandhu and Jasveer Singh, brother of Ranjotveer Singh Sandhu for the suicide.

The 30-year-old Indian-origin woman was domestically abused by her husband Ranjotveer Singh Sandhu for close to eight years. Another video also went viral on the net, which purportedly showed the victim being beaten up.

She is survived by her two daughters, aged four and six, whose custody currently is with Sandhu.

Social media platforms went berserk after the incident was reported.

According to Instagram page @TheKaurMovement, the New York Police Department is investigating the case as a homicide rather than a case of suicide.

In one of the videos posted by the user, Mandeep is heard narrating her daily ordeal. She said that she tried her best for eight years and that one day everything would be fine. She charged her husband with extra-marital affairs and daily beatings in an inebriated state. All through the video, she was seen sobbing and saying how she couldn't take being abused anymore right before she committed suicide.

Tired of her husband's harassment, Mandeep made a video narrating her painful existence. Shortly after the video went viral on social media, she was found hanging by the fan of the house in New York where she lived.