 "Atul Subhash left behind a 24-page suicide note in which he accused his wife and her relatives of harassment. Image Courtesy: X")
An automobile company executive was found hanging in his apartment in Bengaluru in the early hours of Monday.
Atul Subhash left behind a 24-page suicide note in which he accused his wife and her relatives of harassment.
As per initial investigations, the 34-year-old had been facing marital issues and his wife had filed several cases against him in Uttar Pradesh, which he discussed at length in the death note and video shared on the internet.
Subhash’s death has sparked massive outrage among netizens on the internet, with many trending ‘#MenToo’ while demanding justice.
Here’s all we know about the case.
The suicide
The incident came to attention after Subhash emailed an NGO late on Sunday night to advocate for men who are victims of domestic abuse and related problems.
After he and his wife separated, he had been living alone and involved in a marital dispute.
His intention to take his own life was made clear in the email, which led the NGO to take quick action.
Concerned staff shared Subhash’s details with the police control room.
Following the tip, police arrived at his apartment in Bengaluru’s Munnekolalu, Marathahalli, broke down the door and discovered him dead.
The police found a “Justice is Due” A4 sheet placard on Atul’s chest.
A case has been filed by the Marathahalli police against Subhash’s wife and three other members of her family under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with aiding and abetting suicide.
The police contacted Atul’s parents, who were supposed to arrive in Bengaluru by Monday night.
The death note and video
After investigation, an elaborate timetable and a brief note were found stuck to a closet.
The instructions, written in Hindi and English, detailed what he needed to do before and after his death.
Chanting prayers, arranging his possessions, and sending emails to important recipients—such as the courts and his workplace—were among the activities listed in the timetable.
The timetable said that he would post a video, settle his financial debts, return his office laptop, charger, and car back to his workplace, and remove his phone’s biometric information. However, it’s difficult to confirm whether he had done these things.
Before making the drastic move, Subhash recorded a 90-minute video and posted it on social media. “A legal genocide of men happening in India currently,” he wrote alongside.
In addition, the note included an emotional appeal to the NGO to help his parents and other loved ones, if possible.
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The reason
Subhash detailed several criminal charges, including a domestic violence complaint, that were brought against him for alleged harassment by his wife and other people.
He 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.
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.
Additionally, he asserted that his wife wanted to get Rs 2 lakh a month in maintenance for both herself and their son.
He claimed that his wife had first accused him of domestic abuse but later withdrawn the complaint. She later brought another domestic abuse complaint against him, yet. Also, she filed two applications to speed up the proceedings of other cases brought against him.
In the video, which went viral on social media, Subhash alleged, “My wife will keep my child alienated and file more cases to harass me, my elderly parents, and my brother, using the money I pay her as maintenance. Instead of using it for our child’s welfare, she is weaponising it against us.”
He also said, “I feel that I should kill myself because the money I earn is making my enemies stronger. That same money will be used to destroy me, and this cycle will keep going.
“With the money from my taxes, this court and police system will harass me, my family, and other good people. So, the supply of value should be finished.”
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‘Judge takes bribes’
The techie said that a Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, family court judge takes money from those whose cases are still pending in her court.
“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.
His wife allegedly ignored his concerns when he told the judge that she had made false accusations against him and his family, stating, “So what? She is your wife, and this is common.”
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 in order to resolve the matter, the judge demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from him.
“Now with me gone, there will not be any money to loot and I hope that they might start to look at the fact of the cases,” Subhash wrote in his suicide note.
He also demanded that his suicide note and the films he uploaded be admitted as evidence and that all hearings in his case be held live.
Also, he requested that his parents be given custody of his child and that his wife and her family not be permitted near his body.
In a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, he also criticised the criminal justice system and pointed out that men are increasingly being falsely accused by their estranged wives.
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Family seeks justice
The family claimed that Indian laws had little for men and were partial in favour of women. They also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Murmu for justice.
The victim’s father, Pawan Kumar, was quoted by News18 as saying that Subhash was frustrated but he never let his family feel his sufferings.
“He (victim) had said to us that those in the mediation court do not work as per law, not even as per the rules of the Supreme Court. He had to go to Jaunpur from Bengaluru at least 40 times. She (the deceased’s wife) used to frame one charge after another. He must have been frustrated but never let us feel that," he said.
According to the father, who went on to describe the experience, Atul emailed his younger brother at around one in the morning, informing the family about the occurrence.
In a police complaint, Bikas Modi, Subhash’s brother, claimed that the wife and her family had “made false cases” and sought Rs 3 crore in settlement.
#MenToo trends on social media
Subhash’s death has sparked an uproar on social media.
Online users have come together to call for justice for Subhash and to pressure Accenture, where his wife works, to fire her.
In an effort to bring justice to Subhash, hundreds of internet users posted on X using the hashtags #MenToo and #JusticeForAtulSubhash.
A netizen on X wrote, “It’s a crime to be a man in India."
Ministry of Law statement
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Law and Justice said that it is committed to handling family court cases with “care and sensitivity.”
The Ministry posted on X, “Family Courts are a dedicated platform for resolving disputes within families, ensuring that issues related to marriage, child custody, and inheritance are handled with care, sensitivity, and without the conventional formal court style."
It also stated that family courts “focus on timely and impartial solutions, while also promoting reconciliation to help restore relationships within families.”
With inputs from agencies