“We won’t let dowry seekers in anymore,” says Pooja’s grieving Mother

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

In a major development in the Pooja Nirwal suicide case, Pimpri-Chinchwad police on Sunday arrested Pooja’s husband and sister-in-law after nearly a month of inaction. The arrests followed Lokmat Time’s report demanding justice for the 22-year-old, who allegedly died by suicide on April 27 after facing dowry harassment in Pune’s Khed taluka. “Arresting them is not enough. They must be punished severely. We have two more daughters, and we won’t let dowry-seeking people even step into our house,” said Pooja’s mother, Rekha Bochare, expressing her pain and resolve. A native of Tuljapur village in Parbhani, Pooja had dropped out of school due to poor access to education her village only has schooling up to Class IV. Like many girls from the area, she was forced to give up studies due to distance and lack of facilities. The postmortem report remains pending, raising questions about investigative delays. Pooja’s brother-in-law, Sambhaji Talekar, alleged foul play, claiming physical evidence suggests she was murdered and later hanged to stage a suicide. “There’s a mismatch between her height and the ceiling hook. This isn’t suicide it’s murder,” he said. The accused have been remanded to police custody till May 29. Police say further investigation is underway.