Mysuru: Alleged harassment by a man forced a woman and her daughter to commit suicide by hanging at Hebbal in city yesterday. The deceased had used two sides of a single veil to hang themselves to a ceiling fan. The deceased are Jaya (34) and her daughter Priyadarshini (11), natives of Shivamogga.

According to Jaya’s mother Sarojamma, Jaya had married S.N. Sudarshan, 12 years ago. Sudarshan, a native of Kottigehara in Chikkamagalur, was working as a lift mechanic and the family was staying at a rented house near Surya Bakery in Hebbal.

Sarojamma alleged that Sudarshan used to harass her daughter mentally and physically and used to lock them up at their house before going out. “My daughter had narrated her ordeal many times,” she claimed.

Sarojamma further said that yesterday morning her daughter had called her over phone and told her that she was unable to bear the harassment by Sudarshan. “My daughter told me that she was frustrated and would kill herself along her daughter. She also told me that Sudarshan used to threaten to kill her,” Sarojamma said. She wailed that after revealing the suicide plan, her daughter cut the call. 

She further stated that she had called her daughter and told her to come home and live with her. But her daughter had told her that she could not come as her husband had locked them inside the house and left. “I was devastated on hearing the plan but I controlled my emotions as I thought the issue will cool down. I had not imagined that Jaya will take this extreme step along with her daughter,” she added. 

Yesterday at about 8 pm, Vijayanagar Police called Sarojamma over phone and informed her about the suicide and asked her to come to Mysuru immediately. Sarojamma reached Mysuru this morning and the Police conducted the mahazar and shifted the bodies to MMC&RI mortuary for post-mortem. Based on the complaint by Sarojamma, the Police have now arrested Sudarshan.