In the past few months, a disturbing trend has emerged in news reports, where men have shared their ordeals on social media before taking their own lives. A recent such incident has been reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah, where a 33-year-old engineer died by suicide after accusing his wife and in-laws of harassment in a video post.
The victim, Mohit Yadav, who hailed from the Auraiya district, recorded a video alleging threats and false cases filed against him by his in-laws. “If I don’t get justice even after my death, throw my ashes into the drain,” said an anguished Mohit.
According to reports, Mohit arrived in Etawah and checked into the Jolly Hotel outside the railway station on Thursday. When he did not come out of the room by the next evening, hotel staff checked on him and found him hanging inside.
Yadav reportedly worked as a field engineer at a cement company. He married his wife Priya in 2023 after being in a relationship with her for seven years.
In the video, Yadav claimed that his mother-in-law made Priya abort their child after she received a teaching job offer in Bihar. He further alleged that his mother-in-law kept all of Priya’s jewellery with her and threatened him and his family with false cases, even though there had been no dowry demands when they got married.
“My wife threatened me that if I didn’t register my house and property in her name, she would implicate my family in a dowry case. Her father, Manoj Kumar, filed a false complaint, and her brother threatened to kill me,” Mohit said in the video.
He also alleged that his wife began arguing with him daily, and her family consistently sided with her. In the video, Yadav concluded with an apology to his parents and requested that, if he did not receive justice even after death, his ashes be disposed of in a drain.
He also expressed his frustration over the lack of legal protection for men facing false accusations. “By the time you see this video, I will have left this world. I wouldn’t have resorted to this if there were laws protecting men. The harassment from my wife and her family became unbearable,” he stated in his recording.
According to his brother, Tareen Pratap, Yadav had initially been traveling to Kota but stopped in Etawah. The family was devastated when they received his video on their phones on Friday morning.
Abhay Nath Tripathi, Superintendent of Police (City), said an investigation is underway.
Priya Yadav and her family have not yet provided any comment on the matter.
