Hour before suicide in Sharjah, Kerala woman video-called hubby, showed noose, he ignored it

One hour before Chavara native Athulya Sekhar allegedly committed suicide in Sharjah on July 19, 2025, she had made a video call to her husband Satheesh S, the main accused in the case. During the call, she showed him the noose she had made using a cloth. Satheesh has mentioned about the call in his petition filed before the Principal Sessions Court, Kollam. The court cancelled his bail, and he surrendered before the Crime Branch on Monday.

Athulya was found dead in her apartment on her birthday. According to Satheesh, when he saw the noose, he thought she was joking and later he ignored her calls. An hour later, he returned from Ajman to find her hanging in the room.

A day before she died, Athulya had prepared his favourite meal. Before having food, he consumed alcohol and this led to a quarrel between them. She refused to serve him food and asked to serve himself. Satheesh said in the petition that he had apologised to her, and on her birthday, he conveyed his wishes. When she didn't acknowledge this, he said he felt disappointed and left for Ajman. Athulya called him on video and made repeated calls, which he ignored, according to the court document.

The court noted that the videos collected from the mobile phone of Athulya's mother, Thulasi Bhai, were subjected to forensic examination, but there was no video showing Satheesh assaulting Athulya. The videos showed Satheesh consuming alcohol. Besides, the investigating officer has not been able to point out a relevant photo from the images and videos provided by the forensic science laboratory, the court noted.

According to Thulasi Bhai, Athulya contacted her on July 18, a day before she was found hanging, and told her that she planned to take up a job the next day and was going to meet her sister to purchase a dress. "She made a video call and she was happy," Thulasi Bhai had said in the statement.

On July 19, Thulasi Bhai noticed voice messages and photos on her phone sent by Athulya showing marks of assault by Satheesh. When she tried calling her, Satheesh answered the phone and asked her to call later. Later, the co-brother of Satheesh, called Thulasi Bhai, told her that Athulya died by hanging.

While Satheesh claims that she had made a video call before she died by hanging and he ignored her call several times, the police have not included in the chargesheet the offence of abetment to suicide. The court termed it 'unfortunate' while observing that there is nothing to indicate that this was a case of murder, and the available material on record only supports the case of suicide by hanging. The court stressed that there was a clear case of matrimonial cruelty punishable under the relevant sections.

The court further noted that there was a love and hate relationship between Athulya and Satheesh and he used to harass her under the influence of alcohol. His continuous consumption of alcohol and disorderly behaviour led to the death of Athulya. The court noted that Satheesh was responsible for her death in this way and was not entitled to protection under the anticipatory bail.

The Crime Branch probing the case has heavily relied on the autopsy findings of the forensic department of the Government Medical College, Kollam. The forensic report issued by the Ministry of Justice, UAE, noted that there were no other signs of injury on the body which indicated violence, resistance or cohesion apart from one resulted by hanging. After the body was brought to Kerala, the police conducted a fresh autopsy and 46 ante-mortem injuries were noted on neck, face, chin and collar bone. The age of the injuries were not specifically mentioned in the postmortem certificate.