Anissia Batra with her husband Mayank Singhvi.
Highlights
- Anissia Batra's family has said she was murdered
- In a complaint in June, her father said she was tortured by her husband
- Her friend alleged Anissia was a victim of domestic violence
Anissia Batra was cremated today. Her parents and brother were inconsolable. She couldn't have done this...she was a fighter, they kept saying. Her friends agreed.
The 32-year-old flight attendant jumped off the terrace of her Panchsheel Park home, her husband had told the police on Friday. Her family refused to believe the police and alleged she was murdered. Mayank Singhvi, Anissia's husband, and her in-laws tortured her for dowry, they claimed.
Anissia's father, a retired Army Major General, had even filed a complaint in June.
Mayank Singhvi was arrested three days after her death. He was sent to judicial custody for two weeks by a Delhi court today. But Anissia's family isn't convinced.
"We have been demanding Mayank and his parents' immediate arrest, but the police arrested him after 72 hours only after the media picked up the case. His parents, who are co-accused in the first information report, or FIR, have still not been arrested. My father served in the Army for over decades. We believe in the system, but we want things to be done properly," Karan Batra, Anissia's brother, told reporters outside the court today.
The family's lawyer says that WhatsApp and text messages recovered from their mobile phones clearly show the involvement of her in-laws and yet no action has been taken against them.
"They are influential people which explains police's inaction. The cops say they can't trace them. If they don't find them soon, we will approach the court," Ishkaran Singh Bhandari, lawyer, said.
Anissia was a victim of domestic violence, Vandita, one of her friends said. The Batras, including Anissia, didn't know about Mayank's first marriage, said another friend.
"She was brave. She was trying to save her marriage. I have known her for seven years. She was our source of strength, she couldn't have killed herself," said her friend.
"Anissia was with us on Thursday and it's hard to believe that she did this a day later. Her flight kit was packed, uniform was ironed, shoes were ready and she was prepared for her flight on Saturday. Then how could she kill herself?" Bhawna, her colleague asked.
Mayank Singhvi had allegedly told the police about a text message he had received moments before his wife's death. She was threatening to kill herself in the message, Mayank said.
He was home at the time, he claimed, but by the time he reached the terrace, she had jumped. He told the police that he took her to a hospital where she was declared dead.
The family alleged that Mayank Singhvi was an alcoholic who often beat her up and demanded money.
In the complaint filed on June 27, Ms Batra's father had alleged that she was being tortured by her husband and in-laws. "If she is physically harmed, her husband and his parents should be held responsible," Major Gen (Retd) RS Batra had written in his complaint.