Indian Woman Commits Suicide by Consuming Sindoor

A 26-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by consuming sindoor after her husband reportedly refused to take her to Surat, Gujarat, where he worked.

Police say she became ill after consuming sindoor (vermilion) and died in hospital.

‘Sindoor’ can contain lead or mercury compounds and can be toxic.

Station officer of Suryava Police Station, Pradeep Kumar stated:

“Vikas Bind, a resident of Danpur village, married Saraswati Devi three years ago.

“Vikas used to work in the Surat district of Gujarat and had come home during the lockdown. Four days ago, he left for Surat.

“Saraswati wanted to accompany her husband, but Vikas insisted that she stayed at home and looked after their two-and-half-year-old child.”

After Vikas left for Surat, Saraswati consumed sindoor.

While it proved to be fatal, it is not known how much of the substance she had consumed.

Kumar added: “As Saraswati’s condition deteriorated, she was admitted to a hospital where she died on December 9, 2020.”

The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and the matter is being further investigated.

In another tragic incident in Uttar Pradesh, a woman allegedly consumed abortion pills to take her own life at her lover’s wedding.

The incident occurred in Meerut.

The 24-year-groom person had allegedly been exploiting the girl on the pretext of marriage for a long time.

The woman was reportedly five months pregnant when she was admitted to hospital. She died on December 8, 2020.

The accused was preparing for his wedding when the woman consumed the pills.

Upon the arrival of his wedding, the victim consumed abortion pills, causing her to bleed.

In the interim, the accused man has been booked under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He was arrested before his wedding procession began.

Nearly two in every five women in the world who kill themselves are Indian, according to a Lancet study published in 2018.

The UK study found that the rate of Indian women who die by suicide has fallen since 1990, but not as fast as elsewhere in the world.

India now represents 36.6% of global female suicide deaths.

As per the study, Indian women who died by suicide were more likely to be married, to be from more developed states and aged below 35.

Poonam Muttreja, the executive director of the Population Foundation of India, a public health group stated:

“It shows girls in India are in serious trouble.”

She and other specialists blamed the trend on early marriage, as one-fifth of Indian women still marry before the age of 15.

The figure is also contributed to male violence against women and other symptoms of a deeply entrenched patriarchal culture still prevalent in the country.