Maharashtra: Fearing failure in exams, woman kills self with her son

A 28-year-old woman from Chandrapur in Maharashtra allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a lake along with her five-year-old son, the police said on Wednesday. Prima facie, the woman, identified as Rupali Gujjewar, took the extreme step on November 19 over fear that she might not do well in her B.Com examination and consequently not be able to secure a good job, a police official said. She tied her son to her chest with her stole (dupatta) before taking the plunge. Rupali’s husband Aashish works as a salesman in a consumer durable company.

Locals found the bodies of Rupali and her son Abhir floating in the Ramala lake in the Ramnagar locality of Chandrapur in east Maharashtra, around 870 km from from Mumbai. According to the police, Rupali had failed to pass her B.Com second year examination and had reappeared for it on Monday.

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“She returned home Monday morning after attending the examination. She stepped out again and took her son Abhir from tuition. She might have headed to the lake straightway and jumped into it,” the official said.

After returning from work, Aashish couldn’t find his wife and son at home, following which he lodged a missing person complaint with the Ramnagar police station. During the search, the police found a suicide note in Rupali’s bag at her home, the official said. The police are verifying whether the note was written by Rupali herself.

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“Rupali wrote in the suicide note that she was taking the extreme step because she feared that she might fail the exam and not land a good job,” said the official. The bodies were handed over to her family members after a post-mortem examination, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.