About a month ago life changed forever for a retired headmaster and his family in Gowribidanur, some 100 kms from the city. One of his daughters was found hanging in her room and now the family is having to fend off charges that she was a victim of honour killing.
B.N. Bhramarambika, a IVth semester student of Seshadripuram Law College in Bengaluru, was home on study leave in Baadamaraluru village of Gowribidanur taluk, when she was found hanging in her room on May 20. While on the face of it , it seemed she had committed suicide, a PIL filed in the high court claiming her family had killed her to protect its honour has set tongues wagging and drawn the police to the scene.
The family is now being repeatedly quizzed by the police and the district administration to see if there is any truth in these allegations of honour killing against it , although there is no evidence to suggest this so far. The harassed family is regretting having buried Bhramarambika without informing the police about her death.
“My father M Narasimhaiah, a retired school headmaster, has been hospitalised with low blood pressure and my mother Parvathamma and sister Nagalakshmi are with him. My sister Bhramarambike committed suicide when my parents were on a pilgrimage and only my younger sister Roopa and younger brother, B N Hariprasad were home at the time. We have no clue why she killed herself, but news reports say my sister is the victim of honour killing. We really don't know what they mean,” says another of Bhramarambika's sisters, Shubha.
She claims her sister was not in love with anyone and so the question of killing her because she had brought them dishonour did not arise. Acccording to Shuba, Bhramarambika was suffering from a rare disorder and this could have prompted her to take her life. "She was the pillar of our family. We would be thankful if someone told us the exact reason for her death," she adds.
Recounting the events of May 20th, Roopa says she was at home with her brother and knocked on Bhramarambika 's room at around 8.30 pm to summon her for dinner. "When there was no response, we panicked and going outside the house we looked through the window and saw her hanging. We immediately informed our neighbours and my brother-in-law," she says, backing Shuba's version of the day that has left the family with little peace of mind in the weeks since.