'They said Sona should go to Ponnani and attend classes for two months'; boyfriend arrested in connection with TTC student's suicide

KOCHI: Ramees, the boyfriend accused in the suicide of a 23-year-old TTC student in Kothamangalam, has been taken into police custody. The Kothamangalam Police are questioning him, and reports say further steps, including his arrest, will follow. The suicide note of the TTC student named Sona Eldhose had come out earlier today.

In the note, Sona wrote that Ramees had locked her inside his house, harassed her, and pressured her to convert to another religion. She had sent this note to Ramees’s mother. Police had registered a case of unnatural death in connection with Sona's death. Later, charges of abetment to suicide and assault were imposed against Ramees based on the complaint from Sona's family. Ramees works as a temporary staff member at Nedumbassery airport. Sona was found hanging at her home last Saturday.

Speaking to the media, Sona's mother alleged that Ramees had pressured her daughter to convert to Islam and that he even attempted to take her to Ponnani without the family's knowledge.

"Ramees's father and mother had come to our house to talk about the marriage. They came about a week after my husband passed away and said Sona must convert to Islam, or else they would be expelled from the mosque. They made it clear the marriage could only happen if she converted, and they directly asked her if she was willing to do so.

Sona said she didn’t mind converting if it meant marrying Ramees. I was present, along with my son. My son told them that by May, it would be a year since her father’s death, and the marriage could take place after that. He also added, ‘She’s my sister. If it’s a registered marriage without conversion, there shouldn’t be any issue for either side.’ But they kept insisting on conversion and said she would need to attend classes in Ponnani. We told them to wait until she completed her studies, and they left. After that, they never contacted us again, though she and Ramees continued speaking to each other.

On the Friday before all this happened, he was caught in a case related to immoral trafficking. When my daughter found out, she went to his house to talk. At that time, they insulted her and called her bad names. That’s when she decided she would not convert. Even then, her love for him hadn’t faded. She said they could have a registered marriage and live together,” she said.

Sona's brother Basil Eldhose said that his sister had been under heavy mental stress. "After learning about the case against Ramees, Sona said that she will not convert to Islam, but they could go for a registered marriage instead. When Sona went to a friend’s house, Ramees tricked her into going to Aluva, saying they would register the marriage. Then he took her to his house, locked her in, and beat her. He had even kept a vehicle ready to take her to Ponnani. Ramees’s parents, sister, and friends were also there,” Basil said.