‘She was very happy, left after eating biryani,’ death of Athulya is murder, say family

KOLLAM: The family levelled strong allegations against Sathish Shankar over the death of Athulya of Kollam, who died under mysterious circumstances at her flat in Sharjah. The victim’s father Rajasekharan Pillai said Sathish should be awarded severe punishment for killing his daughter. ‘We need to know what had happened. Sathish should be taken into custody after revoking his bail. Athulya, who shared her smiling photos as WhatsApp status, will not commit suicide. Her birthday was on that day. She left from her sister’s house happily after eating biryani. Don't know what happened then,' said her father.

The victim’s sister Akhila also said that Athulya, who had high hopes, would never commit suicide. Sathish had constantly harassed Athulya. Sathish had no sincere love even for his daughter. The postmortem report also said that there were marks on her body that had been caused within 24 hours. Sathish had attacked her on the day of her death. There was a constant dispute with Athulya over his relationships. Athulya was harassed even when she was pregnant. Athulya had spoken to me on the phone until 11.30 pm the previous night of her death. He was found drunk on the day she died. Despite all this evidence, it is unacceptable that he is out on bail. Athulya should get justice,' said Akhila.

Athulya committed suicide on July 19. Chavara Thekkumbhagam police had registered a case of murder against Sathish on the complaint filed by Athulya's family. While the investigation was going on, Sathish had reached home from Sharjah. Sathish, who was arrested at the airport, was granted interim anticipatory bail. The crime branch approached the court seeking cancellation of his bail. The court will consider his plea on September 2.

Some visuals of Sathish threatening to kill her had surfaced yesterday. A shocking video of Sathish saying that he is ready to go to jail after killing her. In one of the videos, Athulya is heard saying that she endured torture for ten years. The initial conclusion is that these videos may have been taken days before her death. In the video, Sathish is saying that he will kill her, that he will not allow her to leave Sharjah and will not let her live. Her relatives had produced these videos in the family court.