Twenty-six-year-old Aarathy, who died by suicide in her rented residence at Attukal on Friday, had sent lengthy messages to her mother detailing the abuse she allegedly suffered from her husband, Athul. 

The Fort police, probing the case, have recovered a suicide note which indicated marital discord. "We can't say that it explicitly cited abuse by Athul. But it does mention marital problems between the couple," a police official told Onmanorama.

A Varkala native, Aarathy married Athul around a year and a half ago.  She was found hanging in the bedroom of the couple's residence on Friday evening. Residents, along with the police, broke open the locked room when she remained unresponsive for a long time.

On Friday, her family was in the dark about the incident. Sruthi S S, the councillor, Attukal ward, answered the call from Aarathy's mother, Jinu, and she asked her to come over.

"I couldn't tell her mother the news directly. So I just asked her to come. Soon after, I called her uncle and other male relatives, informing them about what had happened," said Sruthy.

Soon, her mother and father, Baiju, who works abroad and is presently on leave, reached the spot. For them, it did not take much more than scrolling through Aarathy's chats with her mother to understand why she may have taken such an extreme step.

"Athul would frequently abuse her, and Aarathy had told her mother about it, too. She even sent pictures of the injuries and bruises caused by the abuse," Aarathy's cousin, Venkatesh, told Onmanorama. "She was not aware of the extent of the abuse, though. She believed it would resolve on its own," he added.

According to Venkatesh, Athul would frequently abuse Aarathy under the influence of alcohol. "At times, he even assaulted her when she refused to consume alcohol," he said.

He also expressed reservations about Athul's behaviour following Aarathy's death. "He did not even bother to call and inform us about the incident. It was only after the ward member informed us that we came to know about Aarathy's death," Venkatesh said.

Aarathy's family also alleged that Athul’s continued friendship with his ex-girlfriend also became a point of friction between him and Aarathy.

Meanwhile, Athul's family has denied the allegations. According to his father, Sreekumar, Athul had visited the family on the day of the incident, saying that he could not continue with the marriage. "He told us he couldn't take it anymore. So we called her parents and informed them. They told us to send her back home," he told Onmanorama. "It's likely that she took the extreme step because she was upset about it," he added.

Following the incident, the Fort Police have registered a case of unnatural death based on a complaint filed by her mother, Jinu. According to the police, Athul has been taken into custody and is being questioned regarding his involvement in Aarathy's death. The post-mortem examination has also been completed, and the police are awaiting the report