Atul Subhash suicide case: How wife Nikita Singhania, her family were traced by cops, arrested

Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash’s estranged wife Nikita Singhania was arrested from Haryana’s Gurugram for abetment to suicide on Sunday.

The arrest came a few days after Subhash committed suicide, claiming that his wife and her family had harassed him. He had recorded a 90-minute video and left a 24-page suicide note that described the mental pain he had endured.

The outrage after Subhash’s video went viral, Bengaluru police had registered an FIR against Nikita and her family, who were allegedly on the run since then.

Here’s how the arrest was made.

The arrest

Nikita Singhania was arrested from Gurugram on Sunday and her mother Nisha and brother Anurag Singhania were also taken into custody from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.

They were produced before the court in Bengaluru and sent to judicial custody for two weeks.

The fourth accused, Nikita’s uncle Sushil Singhania, is on the run.

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The accused had locked their houses in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur after getting the news of the arrival of the police to nab them.

The Bengaluru Police then pasted a notice outside her residence, asking them to appear within three days. The team also made a list of the family’s close relatives and monitored them.

However, according to an NDTV report, after an FIR was filed against her, Nikita reportedly changed her location every day and made calls only on WhatsApp, which made it difficult to track them.

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She had moved to a PG accommodation in Gurugram; her mother and brother went into hiding in Prayagraj district.

In the meantime, she also approached the Allahabad High Court for anticipatory bail.

One mistake

While in hiding, Nikita, her mother Nisha, and brother Anurag used WhatsApp calls to stay in touch with family members.

But Nikita did call one of her close relatives, presumably by mistake.

According to news reports, police located the tower and arrived at the PG accommodation in Rail Vihar, Gurugram.

She was taken into custody and forced to call her mother.

Police found them and arrested them in Jhusi town after Nisha Singhania received the call.

The couple’s four-year-old child was reportedly entrusted with a family member, according to media reports.

The police recorded the statements of the three while they were flown to Bengaluru late at night.

The police exercised great caution to prevent the news of their arrest from getting out before they arrived in Bengaluru.

Nikita, her mother, and her brother were brought to the city for a medical checkup and then to the magistrate’s residence in the early hours of the morning before being transferred to prison.

Police sources claim during her questioning, Nikita claimed that she had never bothered Subhash and that he had actually harassed her.

She added that if she had desired money, she would not have left their house.

Subhash’s family concerned about grandchild

While thanking the police for the arrests, Atul’s brother, Bikas Kumar, said that they are most concerned about the whereabouts of Atul’s son, who was not seen in the police-circulated photo.

“Our biggest concern right now is that we don’t know where my nephew is. Two other arrests are pending. I hope they will also be arrested soon," he said.

Atul’s father, Pawar Kumar, asked as to whether his grandson was still alive or had been dead, claiming that the family had not heard anything about him.

“ want my grandson to be with us…I thank the police for arresting the accused…The judge (of the accused) was corrupt," he said.

He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to ensure his grandson’s safe return to him.

“For a grandfather, his grandson means more than his son," he said while making an emotional appeal to the top leaders.

Atul Subhash suicide case

Atul Subhash , an automobile company executive, was found hanging in his apartment on Monday (December 9).

Before taking his life, he penned a 24-page suicide note, which contained serious allegations of explicit instigation for suicide, harassment, extortion, and corruption against his estranged wife, Nikita Singhania, her family and a family court judge.

In the about 90-minute video, which took over the internet, Subhash said he married Nikita Singhania after finding her on a matchmaking website. The couple had a son the following year.

He alleged that his wife’s family would repeatedly demand lakhs of rupees, and when he refused to give, his wife left Bengaluru home with their son in 2021.

Subhash said, “My wife has registered nine cases against me. Six cases are in the lower court and three in the high court,” adding that one of the cases, filed in 2022 against him, his parents, and his brother, include charges such as murder, dowry harassment, and unnatural sex, among others. However, his wife later withdrew the case.

She alleged that he demanded a dowry of Rs 10 lakh and this put pressure on her father and he died of a heart attack.

In another case, Subhash asserted that his wife acknowledged on cross-examination that the murder charges she had previously brought, claiming that her father’s death was caused by Subhash’s desire for a sizable sum of money, were false.

She explained that her father had a lengthy battle with diabetes and other chronic illnesses before passing away in 2019.

“When I entered the court, my wife was already present. They asked me to settle the court cases,” he claimed, further alleging that his wife had previously demanded Rs 1 crore and later increased the demand to Rs 3 crore.

When Subhash stated in court that thousands of individuals commit suicide as a result of false allegations made against him, his wife allegedly responded, “Why do not you do the same?” and the judge replied with a laugh.

He claimed that to resolve the matter, the judge demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from him.

With inputs from agencies

A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers are available  here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022-27546669)