On 11th October 2016, friends of Mita Das, a recent graduate from Jadavpur University, discovered on social media that she had passed away. On 14th October, a Facebook post by Sinjini Sarkar, an MPhil student of Bengali in Jadavpur University, and a classmate of Mita’s, revealed some of the circumstances around her death. She was found dead in her home, and it was declared a suicide by her husband and his family, despite extensive bruising on her body, a torn earlobe and a bleeding nose and mouth. More and more information has surfaced every day since social media exploded with #JusticeforMita and #StopDomesticViolence trending, and a change.org petition has been filed.
Mita married a man named Rana Mondal on 22nd April 2016. She had also recently applied for an MPhil. Mita, according to an account from her classmate, was a good student from a modest background. She used to give tuitions and stitched clothes in her spare time to earn enough money to put herself through the Master’s degree.
According to Sinjini, once, after Mita was married, she had complained to her parents that her husband drank, and a couple of months before the incident, Mita had confided in a batchmate about a possible abortion. Mita visited her parents from 5th October 2016 till 8th October 2016, during which time she brought up the possibility of pursuing a Bachelor’s in Education, for which her parents would have to loan her Rs 1 lakh because her in-laws wouldn’t significantly contribute. A conflicting version says that the money may have been intended for Rana’s plans to open a pathological laboratory.
Mita’s family says they received a call around 5:30 am on 11th October informing them about her “suicide attempt”. Fifteen minutes later they got another call with the news of her death. Despite the nursing home being about five minutes away, Mita did not reach the hospital until one and a half hours later. Sanjivan Nursing Home, where she was taken, is also where her husband is a lab technician. When Mita’s parents reached the hospital, Rana’s mother allegedly told them, “Your daughter is very stubborn.”
A suicide note was reportedly mentioned by Rana’s family, but never found. The case has been reported as a suicide, but according to Mita’s brother, the room in which she hanged herself had a ceiling too low for it to be logistically feasible.
Mita’s husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law have been arrested so far, and a CID probe has been ordered into Mita’s death.
Photo of Mita Das courtesy Sinjini Sarkar via Facebook.