The family of Puneet Khurana, the deceased owner of Delhi's famous Wood Box Cafe, has alleged that his ex-wife, Manika Pahwa, mentally tortured and harassed him, which drove him to take the extreme step. Mother said that in the first year of the marriage of Puneet and Manika Pahwa, everything was fine, but after some time, a dispute between them erupted. She said, "Due to this, i separated them so that they will live happily, but still she used to torture my son...he was depressed from inside."
Mother further stated that disputes related to their business were also the reason. She said, "He never use to tell us anything about it." "She (Puneet's wife) used to keep torturing him...I want justice for him."
40-year-old Wood Box Cafe's owner's sister also alleged that Manika Pahwa, her sister and her parents mentally tortured and harassed Puneet. She provoked him to commit suicide by calling at 3 am in night." She claimed that her brother had recorded a video before taking the extreme step, which was seized by the police with a mobile phone. "There is a video recording of around 59 minutes, in which Puneet has mentioned details of harassment he faced."
Puneet's sister said his social media was also hacked by his ex-wife by taking email address. "The woman had even hacked Puneet's social media account..."
Puneet Khurana, who had been married to Manika Pawa for eight years, had been living separately from his wife for the past two years due to ongoing personal disputes. Recently, the couple had filed for divorce, but discussions took a serious turn when Manika altered the terms few days back, which led to Puneet’s alleged mental distress. The couple co-owned a bakery and restaurant together, and disagreements over the division of their business and property emerged during the divorce proceedings.
Yesterday at 4.18 PM, information regarding suicide was received to Delhi police. On arrival, police found the lifeless body of Puneet on the bed with a ligature mark over his neck. He was shifted to BJRM Hospital post-mortem. The autopsy will be conducted on the body, and enquiry into the matter is being conducted, said a police official.