Kollam: Satheesh, the husband of Kollam native Athulya, who died by suicide in Sharjah, claimed that he was not responsible for her demise, even as police launched an investigation into the death. But he admitted to having physically assaulted her.
Satheesh told the media that he found Athulya hanging when he returned home on Saturday. Raising suspicions about the circumstances surrounding her death, Satheesh said that the flat had only one key and that Athulya’s body was found with her legs bent.

He said that the hanging point was at a height where one could step on it, and noted that he found the cot — which reportedly wouldn’t move even if three people tried — had been shifted from its earlier position. He added that he tried to hang himself from the same fan after finding his wife, but changed his mind, thinking he should first find out what really happened. He also sent messages in school groups saying he didn’t know what had happened.

Refuting charges that he stopped Athulya from work, Satheesh claimed that he 'had arranged everything for her to go to work'. "I do drink occasionally," he told news channels.

"I was someone who lived for her. She seemed to have some issues and wasn’t speaking to me much. I loved her. I also tried to hang myself from the fan. I now suspect this was a murder. They say I harassed her, but there’s no one to speak for me. I’m all alone," Satheesh said. He also revealed that Athulya had aborted their second pregnancy.

On Saturday, Chavara Thekkumbhagam police booked Satheesh for murder and dowry harassment after receiving a complaint from Athulya’s family. Visual evidence of Satheesh physically assaulting Athulya — which she had shared with her sister — also surfaced on news channels after her death came to light.

Athulya was found hanging in her flat in Sharjah on Saturday. According to her friends and relatives, she took the extreme step on her birthday, allegedly depressed over domestic abuse. Athulya and Satheesh have a 10-year-old daughter, who is currently staying with her maternal grandparents in Kollam.