Thiruvananthapuram/Kollam | The remains of a 32-year-old Kerala woman, who was found dead in Sharjah recently, arrived in the state capital on July 22 and were cremated on Wednesday evening at her maternal home in Kollam district amidst emotional scenes.
The one-year-old daughter of the woman, Vipanchika, was also found dead in Sharjah along with her mother and the toddler's remains were cremated there.
Vipanchika allegedly died by suicide and her one-year-old daughter also died under tragic circumstances, raising suspicions that the child may have been killed before the mother took the extreme step.
On Wednesday, a re-postmortem was carried out on the woman's body at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College and then the remains were transported to her home in Keralapuram in Kollam district.
At her home, the remains were kept on display for relatives, friends, neighbours and others to pay their respects and were cremated around 7pm.
While the body was kept on display in a refrigerated box, her mother clung to it crying that she could not see her daughter one last time or even touch her.
She kept calling out to her daughter as she clung to the box and when relatives tried to remove the mother from there, she kept crying out "please don't take me away" and had to be forcibly taken away by several persons.
Meanwhile, BJP leader V Muraleedharan demanded that the state government ensure justice for Vipanchika, who died under mysterious circumstances in Dubai.
He also demanded that there should be an objective investigation into the allegations raised by the woman's family regarding her and her daughter's deaths, a statement issued by his office said.
It also said that Muraleedharan had met the woman's relatives at the medical college and at the family lawyer's request had spoken to the Indian Consul General in the UAE in connection with bringing her remains back to Kerala.
The police has said that a case of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide has been registered in Kerala on a complaint by Vipanchika's mother and it was being investigated.
It also said that an international-level probe was required in the matter as the incident happened outside India.
Vipanchika had married Nidheesh in 2020 and moved to Sharjah.
According to a complaint lodged with police by her mother, Shyamala, Vipanchika was regularly harassed over dowry, humiliated over her appearance, and isolated by her husband and in-laws.
Shyamala alleged that Vipanchika's hair was allegedly cut to make her look "less attractive", as she was fair-skinned while her husband and his family were dark-skinned, the complaint said.
The mother also alleged that her granddaughter, Vybhavi, just one-year-old, was physically harmed after Vipanchika opposed Nidheesh's alleged relationships with other women.
A legal notice for divorce was later sent to Vipanchika.
Unable to bear the ongoing harassment, Vipanchika took the extreme step on July 8.
In her complaint, Shyamala accused Nidheesh, his sister Neethu Beni, and their father of abetment to suicide.
A case has been registered under sections 85 (cruelty by a husband or his relatives towards a woman) and 108 (Abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
