Save me, didi: Delhi woman dies in alleged dowry case minutes after SOS to sister

Save me, didi: These were the last words of a 28-year-old woman to her sister in Delhi before she allegedly died after falling from the fourth floor of her marital house in Inderpuri area in an alleged dowry death case. The victim, Veena, made the SOS call, claiming that her husband and in-laws were beating her and pleaded to hand the phone to her father to hear his voice one last time. Veena had been married to 27-year-old Raju Singh, a private helper at a real estate group in Karol Bagh, for around three-and-a-half years and is survived by her si month-old son. The incident happened on May 18 when she made the distress call to her elder sister Reena at around 9.55 pm. Reena alleged that Veena said, "Save me, didi, they are beating me. Maybe I won't be able to talk later, so let me speak to Papa too," before the call abruptly disconnected. She further claimed that Veena asked her to take care of her son and not to hand him over to her in-laws. The victim's family said they made repeated attempts to contact her afterwards but failed. They alleged that merely seven minutes after the distress call, when the family was on their way to Veena's residence, they received another call from her brother-in-law informing them that she had fallen from the roof. According to police, a team rushed to the spot after a PCR call about a woman falling from a building in the neighbourhood. She was shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead upon arrival. On Wednesday, Veena's body was handed over to her family after a postmortem examination at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. A day prior, statements of her family members were recorded before the area Sub-Divisional Magistrate. Veena's father, Suresh, alleged that despite giving dowry and gifts at the time of marriage, his daughter faced prolonged physical abuse and harassment from her husband and in-laws. The family has accused them of repeatedly assaulting her over dowry demands. According to the complaint, the victim's husband allegedly demanded a Royal Enfield motorcycle, while her brother-in-law would taunt her by comparing the dowry received by his own wife's family. Her family claimed he would mock Veena over receiving a 32-inch television in dowry, as opposed to the 46-inch his wife's family had given. Veena's younger brother told reporters that one time when he had stayed at her marital home for nearly 15 days, he saw the in-laws "beating and abusing her". "Once, they beat her so badly that her eardrum ruptured, and we had to get her treated. But my sister never allowed us to file a complaint because she wanted to save her marriage and protect our family," he claimed. He, too, had received a distress call from Veena before her death. "On May 18, my elder sister called me crying and said, Save me, they are beating me badly. They will kill me'. The call got disconnected. Later, her brother-in-law informed us that she had jumped from the roof," the brother claimed. Meanwhile, Veena's father-in-law, Jaipal, denied all allegations of dowry harassment, assault, and murder. He claimed he was in his native village at the time of the incident and rushed to Delhi after learning about his daughter-in-law's death. Delhi Police have registered an FIR under anti-dowry laws against Veena's husband and two brothers-in-law. The accused husband and one of his brothers have been arrested. Police said further investigation is underway. The incident comes at a time when the alleged dowry deaths of Twisha Sharma and Deepika in Bhopal and Greater Noida, respectively, only months into their marriage, have rocked the nation. Ends (With inputs from PTI) Published By: sharangee Published On: May 22, 2026 16:15 IST