Mumbai: The Samta Nagar police booked Bapu Katre, 48, subregistrar of the MHADA, and his mother for allegedly abetting suicide. Bapu Katre’s wife, Renu Katre, 44, allegedly died by suicide by hanging herself at their house in Kandivali East on July 26. The next day, the police registered a case based on a complaint filed by Renu Katre’s brother.
About The Case
According to the FIR, Renu Katre married Bapu Katre in 2003, and the couple had two teenage sons. Renu was living with his family at Lokhandwala, Kandivali East. After the marriage, her mother-in-law, Vilam alias Yamabai Katre, allegedly harassed her mentally and made her do excessive household work. Renu had informed her father, who lives in Sangli.
Following this, her father gave her eight tolas of gold bangles. Her husband frequently harassed her both mentally and physically and allegedly pressured her to bring money from her parents. Her father had already given her Rs12 lakh in 2023 and Rs10 lakh in 2024. Bapu Katre would often belittle her and claim that she didn’t deserve to live with someone of his status. Her brother alleged that Katre earned Rs 20 to 25 lakh per month through illegal means in addition to his salary.
Renu had repeatedly requested him not to use illegal money for their children’s education, which also led to frequent altercations between them. When her father was diagnosed with cancer, Bapu allegedly did not allow her to visit him. However, Renu went to Pune against his wishes. Upon her return, her husband allegedly beat her with a stick for meeting her father without his permission. Fed up with constant harassment, both families had agreed to hold a meeting on July 27 to resolve the matter.
However, her husband reportedly refused to attend, which left Renu deeply upset. On July 26, at around 8.30am, she called her brother in tears and told him that her husband was treating her badly. He had thrown away the tiffin she had prepared. She told her brother that her husband would never change, and he did not want her any more. Her brother had advised her several times to come live with her parents, but she did not agree for the sake of her sons.
Later that day, around 4.40 pm, she called a family doctor, again crying, and said that her husband refused to attend the meeting and would never treat her well. She abruptly disconnected the call. The doctor then informed her father. Her parents and brother tried calling her repeatedly, but she did not respond. Eventually, her maternal family rushed to Mumbai and discovered that she had allegedly hanged herself in the hall of the flat with a nylon rope.
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The victim’s brother alleged that she had been facing continuous harassment over dowry demands from both her husband and mother-in-law. The police have initiated an investigation into the claims and said all allegations are currently being verified as part of the ongoing probe.
Inputs from PTI
