Pune building collapse victim’s wife dies by suicide a month later; family alleges harassment by in-laws

PUNE: A 23-year-old woman, whose husband died in the Moshi building collapse tragedy last month, allegedly died by suicide by hanging.Her brother, however, alleged that she was facing harassment from her in-laws, news agency PTI reported.Sonali Nagesh Gaikwad died on Wednesday. She is survived by two daughters, aged one and two years, her brother said.Sonali’s husband died in the Moshi incident in Pimpri Chinchwad a month ago, following which she allegedly faced constant harassment, her brother claimed.“From the day the accident happened, the torture started. Her in-laws held her responsible for their son’s death. They had stopped talking to her and isolated her,” he said.The brother said Sonali had been depressed for the past month, PTI reported.“She never told us directly about the torture, but we could guess it from her behaviour. Earlier she used to share things, but lately she had stopped talking completely,” he said.The family has demanded a thorough probe, calling it a case of abetment to suicide.According to Sonali’s brother, the family received Rs 10 lakh in compensation after Nagesh’s death, but she received only 40% of the amount, while the rest was claimed by her in-laws.A senior police official said the allegations were being looked into. No suicide note was found.A three-storey administrative building collapsed at Moshi in Pune district on July 8 after a massive, 70-foot mound of adjacent legacy garbage collapsed onto the building, killing nine people.(With agency inputs)