Rajasthan Triple Suicide: 'Sisters Were Good at Studies, But Forced to Quit'

"The three sisters used to do everything together since childhood," says a close cousin.

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"The three sisters used to do everything together since childhood. They even married into the same household," says 25-year-old Hemraj Meena, a cousin of the three sisters found dead in a well in Dudu district, near Rajasthan's capital Jaipur, on 28 May.

"They were being repeatedly harassed by their in-laws over dowry. They also forced them to quit their studies,” Hemraj tells The Quint.

The three women – Kalu Meena, Mamta Meena, and Kamlesh Meena – were aged 25, 23, and 20 years, respectively. They were found dead along with two children – one all of four years, and the other, less than a month old. The two younger sisters – Mamta and Kamlesh – were pregnant at the time of their death. The three women were married to three brothers of the same household.

While Rajasthan Police suspect that the women died by suicide, investigation is currently underway. So far, their husbands, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law have been arrested.

Events That Led to Their Bodies Being Found

On 25 May, three days before their bodies were found, Kamlesh, the youngest sister, called up their father. She told him that all three of them feared their lives – and were being beaten up by their husbands.

Sources told The Quint that the father was verbally abused by the in-laws when he reached his daughters' home. They reportedly told him that his daughters "have died", and also asked him to "go away and kill himself." Thereafter, a missing persons report was lodged at the Dudu police station.

A day later, on 26 May, there was no further lead. The Rajasthan Police filed an FIR under Section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), Section 406 (criminal breach of trust), and Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC.

On 28 May, around 2 pm, the police found the bodies of the women inside a well, barely 2 km away from their home. Late night on 28 May, Rajasthan Police arrested all the accused in the case – the three husbands, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law – all of whom would allegedly harass the sisters.

'The Sisters Were Very Good at Studies'

The three brothers – Narsingh Meena, Jagdish Meena, and Mukesh Meena – would "barely work", Hemraj tells The Quint, with their primary income coming from farming.

They would also allegedly force their wives to help with farming – but the women were interested in studying further.

“They were all very strong and they were very good in studies, too. But their in-laws forced them to drop out in the last few years. They were told to help with farming instead,” Hemraj concurs.

"Mamta wanted to become a government officer. She got 84 percent in Class 12. She was studying MA Hindi in a central university, while preparing for her examinations. But her husband and in-laws put a lot of pressure on her and made her quit. She wanted to continue her studies."

Hemraj Meena

Kalu Devi, the eldest sister, who was married into the family seven years ago, was forced to drop out of school. Mamta and Kamlesh got married later.

'Women Harassed For Last Five Years'

The women, who hailed from Chhapya village in Jaipur district, had been complaining of harassment to their parents for the last five years.

"My uncle had called it out many times. But the other family members would not cooperate," Hemraj says.

According to him, in April 2022, Kalu Devi, the eldest sister, was admitted to the hospital after her husband and his family beat her up. She was taken to the hospital by the father. However, according to sources, no complaint was filed against the family members.

Nandlal Meena, a neighbour, tells The Quint that the family hailed from a rich, agricultural family – and that there was "no dearth of money."

"They were always fighting about how the husbands were alcoholic. But the men refused to give up drinking. We used to hear a lot of ruckus. But we did not know if dowry was the issue. But I can say that all three girls were very smart – you give them accounts to manage, or anything, they would get it done. No one expected them to take such a drastic step."

Nandlal Meena

According to National Crime Bureau Record's (NCRB) latest data, Rajasthan is among the top five states that record the most dowry deaths in India. The 2021 data show 19 women died every day due to dowry-related issues in India. A total of 6,966 cases of dowry deaths, with 7,045 victims, were reported during the year – of which Rajasthan lost 479 lives.

A case of dowry death is yet to be filed in this case by the Rajasthan Police.

“Prima facie, the incident appears to be suicide but the exact cause of the death will be clear after the postmortem. One of the women had also posted a status on WhatsApp that they were being troubled by their in-laws, and it was better to die. Since the bodies have been recovered now and the family is giving a supplementary report, based on that we will register a case under Section 304B (dowry death),” SP Jaipur Rural, Manish Agarwal, said in a statement.