Woman ends life over husband’s illicit affair

The victim was identified as Pushpalatha of Bharati Nagar in Nesapakkam. Police said that the victim killed herself after domestic quarrel with her husband over his affair with another woman. 

During a quarrel, her husband reportedly claimed that even the Supreme Court did not consider adultery as a crime, said police. Earlier under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), adultery was a punishable offence. The Supreme Court scrapped the section three days ago.

The victim had married John Paul Franklin (27) two years ago and the couple have a child. The couple had entered into wedlock after a love affair despite a strong opposition from their families. The woman was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. Her husband John Paul is employed as a security guard at a corporation park.

Police said that John Paul began distancing from his wife after she fell sick.  When Pushpalatha conveyed the issue to one of her husband’s friends, he reportedly told her about her husband’s affair with another woman. 

Pushpalatha used fight with him over the issue and even asked for a divorce. However, John Paul was not bothered even when she threatened to lodge a complaint with the police. He recently told her that she cannot book a case against him as the court has ruled that adultery is not a crime anymore, police said.  

In her suicide note, Pushpalatha had said that her husband was having an affair with another woman and gave their child to the ‘other woman’ for caretaking.  

On Sunday, one of the woman’s relatives found her hanging and alerted the MGR Nagar police.