‘Throw my ashes in drain if justice not done to me’: Engineer takes own life alleging harassment by wife and in-laws in UP’s Etawah, says there is no law for men
A 33-year-old engineer, Mohit Yadav, committed suicide in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, accusing his wife and in-laws of harassment. Yadav was reportedly found hanging in a room in the Jolly Hotel outside the Etawah railway station on Friday (18th April) by hotel staff. He checked into the hotel on Thursday (17th April). The hotel staff came to check after he did not leave the room the next morning, and found him hanging inside the room.
Yadav recorded a video before committing suicide
Yadav, a resident of Auraiya district, recorded a video before taking his life in which he alleged that he and his family were facing harassment by his wife and her family. The police found the video on his phone. “If I don’t get justice even after my death, throw my ashes into a drain,” Yadav said in the video. He expressed frustration over the lack of legal remedies available to men who face similar harassment. “By the time you get this video, I will be gone from this world. I wouldn’t have taken this step if there were a law for men. I couldn’t tolerate the harassment by my wife and her family,” he said.
He levelled serious allegations against his mother-in-law, saying that she made his wife abort their child after she got a teacher’s job in Samastipur, Bihar. He added that his mother-in-law kept his wife’s jewellery with her and threatened his family with false cases. Yadav said that he and his wife got married after 7 years of knowing each other. He said that he did not demand any dowry in his wedding as it was a love marriage, yet his wife threatened to file false dowry cases against him and his family if he did not register his house and property in her name. He said that his father-in-law filed a false complaint against him, and his brother-in-law threatened to kill him. Yadav, who worked as a field engineer in a cement company, concluded the video by apologising to his parents for failing to fulfil their expectations. Abhay Nath Tripathi, Superintendent of Police (City), said that the police are investigating the case.
Similar cases of suicide by men on the rise
Many cases of men taking their lives after facing harassment by their wives and in-laws have come to light recently. Last year, in December, a 34-year-old software engineer, Atul Subhash, committed suicide at his home in Marathahalli, Bengaluru, leaving a 24-page suicide note behind. In the same month, a head constable with Bengaluru Police, Tippanna Alugur, ended his life in the city, blaming his wife and her family.
In a similar case, in February 2025, Manav Sharma, who was an employee at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), was found hanging at his home in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Before taking his life, he recorded a video in which he pleaded for society to acknowledge the struggles that men face. He also repeatedly urged people to think and talk about men, while apologising to his parents for his decision.
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