Accused Rathod's family said he will cooperate with the police investigation so that justice will prevail.
The accused, Shivaram Rathod, with his mother and others at the court on Friday. (Supplied)
A city court in Hyderabad on Saturday, 21 October, granted bail to Shivaram Rathod, arrested a day ago for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 23-year-old woman.
The XI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Nampally granted bail to Rathod on a personal bond of ₹5,000 after rejecting the Chikkadpally police’s request for his custody for further investigation.
Rathod, who had been in hiding since the 13 October death of Marri Pravalika, surrendered before the magistrate court on Friday and was subsequently arrested. Pravalika, a resident of Warangal, reportedly died by suicide in her Ashok Nagar hostel room in Hyderabad.
The young woman was preparing for the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) examination to land a government job. Her death took a political hue after the Opposition parties accused the BRS government of delaying the TSPSC exams, which made her take the extreme step.
After an initial probe, the police held 26-year-old Rathod, hailing from Thanda in Kosigi of undivided Mahbubnagar, responsible for her suicide. He was accused of leaving Pravalika for another woman that his parents had found.
Rathod, after surrendering, pleaded innocence and told South First that they were mere friends. The man said he had known Pravalika since July, and both were attending the same coaching centre at Ashok Nagar. However, the police booked him under Section 174 (police to probe suicide) of the CrPC.
Defence lawyer Sandeep said Rathod left for his native place after getting bail. “The police can summon him for further investigation,” he told South First.
Meanwhile, the accused youth’s father Nenavat Kishan Rathod said: “We decided to surrender before the court. This decision was made because our son was not at fault,” he told South First.
He added that his son would cooperate with the investigation. “Justice must prevail,” he said.
Police sources said the investigators have asked for an early report from the Forensic Science Laboratory. Normally, the report would take nearly a month.
On Friday, the police formed four teams to arrest Rathod. The teams went to several places, including Maharashtra.
Pravalika’s suicide took a political turn in poll-bound Telangana with the ruling BRS and Opposition parties trading charges at each other. Though the woman’s family initially held the delay in holding TSPSC exams had led to her suicide, they later backed the police line and accused Rathod of harassing her.
On 19 October, Nenavat Kishan wrote to the State Human Rights Commission, saying the police were harassing the family and threatened to bump them off in an encounter.
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