Pune: ‘They Blamed Her For His Death’, Alleges Family; Moshi Tragedy Victim’s Wife Dies By Suicide Amid Harassment Claims

Pimpri-Chinchwad: The family of 23-year-old Sonali Gaikwad has alleged that she was being mentally harassed by her in-laws before her death. Sonali was the wife of Nagesh Gaikwad, who was killed in the Moshi garbage depot tragedy last month.

Police said that Sonali died by suicide by hanging at her residence in Moshi at around 7 pm on Wednesday and that no suicide note was found.

Her family has now alleged foul play and demanded that an FIR be registered against her in-laws. They also said they would not take the body for the post-mortem until a case was registered.

Abhay Kalyan Wakte, Sonali’s brother, alleged that she had faced harassment from her in-laws after her husband died in the garbage depot incident.

“She was my sister. Her husband passed away in the garbage depot tragedy last month. Since then, the torture had started. Her in-laws harassed her a lot,” Wakte told the media.

He alleged that her mother-in-law and father-in-law repeatedly blamed Sonali for Nagesh’s death.

“They were saying, ‘You are the reason. Whatever happened is because of you,’” Wakte said.

According to Wakte, Sonali had two young daughters, aged one and two. He said she had become increasingly isolated after her husband’s death.

“She didn’t tell us, but we could understand. She was living alone and had stopped talking. When we went to stay there, we found out that the in-laws were not talking to her. She was left isolated,” he said.

Wakte claimed that Sonali was in depression and that the family had noticed a change in her behaviour.

The family has also raised questions over the financial assistance received after Nagesh’s death. A total of Rs 40 lakh was announced by the government to the family of the victims of the Moshi garbage depot tragedy. Out of this, a Rs 10 lakh cheque was received, the family said.

Wakte said a cheque of Rs 10 lakh had been received from the government. He alleged that Sonali received 40% of the amount while her in-laws received 60%.

“Our request is that foul play is suspected in this. Our uncle has been sitting at the police station since yesterday. Our request is that an FIR should be registered and action should be taken,” Wakte said.

Dinesh Madhukar Wakte, Sonali’s nephew, also alleged that the family was not informed immediately after her death.

“On Wednesday, when the suicide took place, the in-laws brought her to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital without informing anyone from our side of the family and informed us late. When we came here, none of the in-laws was present here,” he said.

The family later approached the MIDC Bhosari Police Station, where they allegedly sought registration of an FIR.

“When we went to the police station, we were told that an FIR cannot be registered. We asked for the reason. Then the senior officer came and told us they would register the FIR on Thursday morning,” Wakte alleged.

He claimed that the FIR had still not been registered and that the police had not taken their complaint as of Thursday afternoon.

The family has alleged that Sonali’s in-laws were mentally harassing her despite the government assistance being distributed.

“They were blaming her. They were saying, ‘Nagesh died because of her,’” Dinesh Wakte alleged.

He also questioned the absence of Sonali’s mother-in-law and father-in-law from the hospital.

“Our claim is that there is foul play, which is why the mother-in-law and father-in-law are missing,” he said.

The family has taken a firm stand over the post-mortem. Wakte said they would not take the body until the police registered a case and took appropriate action.

“As long as a case is not registered, we will not take the post-mortem and the body. Appropriate action must be taken,” he said.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police (MIDC Bhosari Division) Sudhakar Yadav said further legal proceedings were underway. An Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been registered at the MIDC Bhosari Police Station.

Police Inspector Ganesh Jamdar, who is in charge of the MIDC Bhosari Police Station, confirmed Sonali’s death and said further proceedings were underway at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital.

Police have maintained that no suicide note has been found.

Sources said the post-mortem examination had not been completed as of Thursday afternoon. The inquest had already been conducted. Police officials said that they would take appropriate action after a preliminary investigation in this case.

Sonali’s death comes just over a month after her husband Nagesh Sarjerao Gaikwad was killed in the Moshi garbage depot tragedy.

Nagesh was one of nine workers who died after a massive mound of waste collapsed onto the three-storey administrative building of the waste-to-energy facility at the Moshi garbage depot on July 8.

Nagesh, who was in his late 20s, was a resident of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar in Moshi. He was originally from Georai tehsil in the Beed district. He had been working at the garbage depot for around three years.

He was among the workers trapped after the collapse. His body was recovered during the rescue operation on July 11.

The incident occurred at around 1.30 pm on 8th July. A total of 23 workers were inside the building at the time. Five workers managed to escape on their own, while rescue teams pulled nine others out alive.

Nine workers died in the tragedy.

The rescue operation continued for nearly 84 hours. The final victim, Waman Kasbe, was recovered in the early hours of July 12. With his recovery, all 23 workers were accounted for.

Nagesh’s death left Sonali to raise their two young daughters. His family had earlier sought support from the authorities for his widow and children.

The allegations made by Sonali’s family have not yet been independently established. Police are conducting further proceedings into her death, while the family’s demand for an FIR remains under consideration.