Sending Manjula to IIT was a mistake, should have saved money for dowry, says late Phd scholar’s father

Manjula's parents have alleged that her husband Ritesh had demanded Rs 20-25 lakh as dowry for starting a new business

By: News Desk |
June 1, 2017 10:39 am

Manjula Devak, a Phd scholar at Indian Institute of Technology was found dead on Tuesday in the institute’s hostel in New Delhi. The 27-year-old was found hanging from the ceiling fan after police broke open the door of her flat at IIT’s Nalanda apartments. Devak was pursuing her doctorate in water resources, she was married tone Ritesh Virha. As Manjula’s father waited for her daughter’s body at AIIMS mortuary on Wednesday, he said that the decision to send her daughter to IIT was a mistake, he would rather have saved that money for her dowry.

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“It was a mistake to educate my daughter and send her to IIT. I should have saved all the money for her dowry,” Hindustan Times quoted him as saying. According to the daily, Manjula’s parents have alleged that her husband Ritesh had demanded Rs 20-25 lakh as dowry for starting a new business . However, they were unsure what prompted their daughter to take the extreme step.

Ritesh and Manjula tied the knot in 2013 but they had been living separately for over a year now. Manjula’s mother Seema said that Manjula’s husband had forced her to quit studies and asked her to arrange Rs 20-25 lakh for a new business.

“After quitting jobs in Delhi and Mumbai, Ritesh stayed with her at the campus apartment for about a year.He was troubling Manjula to get around Rs 20-25 lakh to start his business. I asked my daughter if she wanted a divorce but she was worried about the family’s reputation,” she told Hindustan Times.