Mita was admitted to the Masters' programme in Jadavpur University with us, on July 2013. A meritorious student, she passed out with a first-class, and wanted to continue her studies.We had our convocation on December 2015. Mita got married on 22nd April 2016. She then applied for the M.Phil programme at Jadavpur University. Mita with a seemingly bright future had passed away on Dashami evening, we found out from social media. The report did not say 'suicide', instead there is mention of hanging and subsequent strangulation.

Mita's household got a call from her husband, Rana Mondol on Dashami, 11th October, around 5 to 5:30 am. Rana reportedly said, “Your daughter tried to commit suicide.” Fifteen minutes later, he called again to say, “Your daughter has passed away.” When Mita's family finally managed to reach Sanjiban Hospital, they found no one from the household at the site; Rana was nowhere to be found. Mita's in-laws seemed to have a defensive attitude. The husband of a woman who has committed suicide ought to be devastated with grief, so then why had he gone missing? Mita's uncle-in-law said, “Your daughter wrote a suicide note.” Upon being asked where the note was, he almost ran away. Several questions like these have risen out of Mita's unresponsive body. Mita committed 'suicide' in a way that made her nose and ears bleed. The blood flooded her mouth, congealed in her hair. Blood trickled out of her ear. Deep scratches and bruises formed on her neck and shoulders alongside a torn ear lobe. There was a deep black stain on her neck which could be the work of fingers or noose, or both if a noose was used after the fingers. All trace of Mita's marriage has remained – the 'shankha pala', the 'mehendi' on her hand, 'aalta' on her feet. Her in-laws thought this was an incident of 'natural death' and tried to pass it off as suicide.

The room in which Mita committed 'suicide' has a bed that is so high, and a ceiling so low that if Mita were to stand up on the bed, the blade of the fan would touch her neck – as informed by Mita's brother. Where there is no room to hang, Mita apparently hung herself and committed 'suicide.' But where exactly did she get the wounds from? Why did Sanjiban hospital, which also happens to be Mita's husband, Rana's workplace, file a report that claimed that the only wounds visible on Mita were around her neck? Why did the cause of death state strangulation from hanging? Do the doctors not recognise blood? Do they not recognise the scratch marks? Did the doctors at Sanjiban hospital believe that the blood oozing from Mita's nose and ears was perfectly natural even in the absence of a haemorrhage? We don't know the truth but we have heard, and this may well be a rumour, that a part of the land on which Sanjiban hospital was constructed had been owned by Rana's family. Rana's family have significant clout within the hospital and Rana's job as a technician was secured through similar means.

The police haven't yet sealed the room in which Mita was found dead. Evidence could easily be swiped, the alignment of the bed could be changed to provide evidence in favour of her 'suicide' if her murderers were so inclined. Although Mita's husband and father in law have been found, her mother in law and brother in law remain missing. Yes, they were present in the house at the time of her murder. The murdered girl's parents were informed by the mother in law, while still at the gates of the hospital, "Your daughter is very stubborn." She hadn't been frightened off yet. Mita's in-laws live in Mondolpara within Kushberia. Most of the people there are related to Rana, whether directly or indirectly. Thus when Mita's parents were running from pillar to post in the wake of their daughter's murder, they faced rejection at every point. The police were reluctant to lodge an FIR; Mita's family was kept waiting for a long time. In the end the situation had become so aggravated that the police had to employ RAF to safely escort Mita's family to Howrah.

Apart from this several seemingly arbitrary incidents were taking place which, once threaded together begin to form a clearer picture. On Chaturthi, Mita had gone home to her parents and declared that she wanted to pursue a B.Ed degree which happened to be quite expensive. Her in laws had apparently said they would provide very little money, and so about one lakh rupees would have to come from Mita's father. A couple of months before her murder she had confided in her close friend and our batch mate that she had conceived but had to go through an abortion. These particular incidents seem a little too familiar, don't they? It's quite clear what the matter is, but the laws in our country are so ridiculous that without the backing of a majority it becomes useless. We, Mita's friends, are concerned that she will not receive true justice. Mita's family is not financially stable enough to afford a competent lawyer to fight the case. We believe that Mita, a former student of Bengal's finest and most progressive educational institution, has been a victim of domestic abuse.

In recent times we have seen that several cases of domestic violence have not received adequate attention. Hence we urge you to sign and share this petition with utmost importance to secure justice for Mita and her family.