A 34-year-old man from Bengaluru, Atul Subhash, died by suicide at his residence after recording a video and leaving notes alleging harassment by his estranged wife and her family. The incident has raised concerns about the misuse of legal provisions and the mental strain caused by family disputes.

What happened?

Atul Subhash, originally from Bihar, was found hanging dead at his flat in Manjunath Layout, Bengaluru. Neighbors could break into his apartment by sensing something was wrong and had found him hanging. A placard reading "justice is due" was found in the room.

Bikas Kumar, his brother, had complained to the police that Atul had been facing false cases against him and his family, which made him very distressed. Bengaluru police have filed a case of abetment to suicide and also recovered a suicide note along with a video recorded by Atul.

In the video, Atul has serious claims against his wife, her family, and even a judge from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. He described how his life began to spiral after he married in 2019. The couple had a son in 2020, but Atul says that things became tough after his wife's family allegedly started demanding huge sums of money.

According to him, Atul refused, whereupon the wife left his home in 2021 with their son. He alleged that she subsequently filed cases against him under multiple charges of dowry harassment, cruelty, and even unnatural sex.

Atul also blamed the wife's family for having demanded ₹1 crore initially to settle the matter, but later increasing the demand to ₹3 crore.  He detailed a court incident, alleging that when he pointed out the rising suicides of men due to false cases, his wife mockingly replied, “Then why don’t you?” Atul claimed the judge laughed at this remark and dismissed him.

He further alleged that the judge hinted at settling the case for ₹5 lakh and that his mother-in-law cruelly questioned why he hadn’t died by suicide yet.

Atul left behind a suicide note addressed to the President, where he lambasted the justice system, accusing it of encouraging harassment and extortion through false cases. He wrote, “Now, with me gone, there won’t be any money and there won’t be any reason to harass my old parents and my brother. I may have destroyed my body, but it has saved everything I believe in.”

He also expressed anger over being denied access to his son since his wife left. Atul claimed that his wife’s accusations were fabricated, highlighting that her father's death, allegedly blamed on him, was due to long-term illness.

Before killing himself, Atul had uploaded the video on social media site X where he tagged its CEO Elon Musk and former U.S. President Donald Trump. His message stated: “I will be dead when you will read this. A legal genocide of men happening in India currently. A dead man is requesting Elon Musk and Donald Trump to save millions of lives from woke ideologies, abortion, DEI, and restore freedom of speech in India.”

The case has brought up a lot of discussion on the growing mental health issues among men who have disputes in the family and how much judicial cases need to be treated fairly.

Seeking help

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, help is available:

  • Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health: 9999666555 or [email protected]

  • TISS iCall: 022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday: 8 am to 10 pm)