Dr Shahana’s suicide note 4 pages long, not single sentence: Remand report

Thiruvananthapuram: Dr A J Shahana, the postgraduate medical student at Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, who allegedly took her own life following a dowry demand by her fiance wrote a four-page suicide note, says the remand report by police. The remand report contradicts an earlier police statement stating that Shahana’s suicide note, written on the back of an outpatient (OP) ticket, contained only a single sentence.

Station house officer (SHO) at Medical College police station P Harilal had told reporters on Monday that a note found in Shahana’s room said, ‘Everyone wants money; money triumphs over everything else’. The note did not have any mention about dowry demands or allegations against anyone, he said.

However, in the remand report, the SHO says that Shahana named her senior Dr EA Ruwise as the person who cheated her.
“My life is being sacrificed for his greed for dowry. His aim was to destroy me after offering to marry me. It is a fact that my family cannot afford 1.5 kg of gold and acres of land,” said Shahana in the note, according to the remand report.

Officers at Medical College police station had informed the media on Wednesday that the note was scribbled on the back of an OP ticket. However, Deputy Commissioner of Police Nithin Raj told Manorama that Shahana had prepared an elaborate note penned in A4 sheets in which allegations were raised against several people. “We need to probe these charges. I cannot reveal more details,” he said.

According to reports, the note explains in detail Shahana’s relationship with Ruwise, the demand for a huge dowry and the neglect of his family. The note also says that some people did not support her during the crisis. The note submitted before the court along with the remand report will be examined by the documentation wing of the Forensic Laboratory.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner said that a case was not filed against Ruwise immediately after Shahana’s note was found because the police needed to collect more evidence.

Ruwise was charged under the Dowry Prevention Act and for abetment of suicide after the police took the statements of Shahana’s sister Sarina and mother Jaleela Beevi. He was arrested from Karunagappally and remanded to custody. Cyber City Assistant Commissioner D K Prithviraj is in charge of the investigation.