Rajasthan Elderly Couple Dies by Suicide Over Property Harassment: Sons and Daughters-in-Law Accused

Emotions ran high when elderly parents in Nagaur, Rajasthan committed suicide following sustained harassment from their children over property issues. Hazariram Bishnoi , aged 70, and Chawali Devi,67, were the elderly exercise partner who, in their suicide notes, accused all relatives of abandoning the couple because of matters of property disagreement over the assets of their sons and their daughter in laws.

This case, which surprised the people living in the vicinity and has been covered by the media in the country, brings to light the increasing trend of family disputes over property in India especially in joint families such as the one presented. 

The Tragic Discovery 

The couple’s remains were discovered in a water tank located at their residence in Karni Colony, Nagaur. The aged couple was not seen for two days and a kind neighbour got worried and went to call their son. Grown sick with anxiety, the police were called. They arrived and the lid of the tank was open and the couple’s corpses were observed floating inside the water tank. Station House Officer (SHO) Manish Dev managed to recover the dead bodies and requested that a post mortem be performed on the cadavers. Hazariram’s autopsy has been carried out while that for his wife Chawali Devi is yet to take place as it has been scheduled.

The incident came to light on October 10, 2024, leaving the local community in shock. Authorities are continuing their investigation to gather more details and determine if any legal actions will be taken against the family members named in the suicide notes.

The Suicide Notes

In a series of suicide notes left behind, Hazariram Bishnoi detailed the immense emotional pain and distress that he and his wife had been suffering due to continuous harassment from their children. According to the police, the notes were found passed around their home, making the situation clear to investigators. The accusations specifically target the couple’s sons, daughters-in-law, and other relatives, all linked to disputes over family property. These notes reflect the unbearable tension and emotional turmoil the couple had endured for an extended period before taking the tragic step of ending their lives.

Rising Property Disputes in Indian Families

This case sheds light on the troubling issue of property-related disputes in Indian families, particularly affecting elderly parents. Family feuds over property inheritance or division are not uncommon, but in many cases, they escalate to emotional and physical harassment of parents, especially in joint family systems where multiple generations live together.

In this particular case, the old couple was resigned to their fates and viewed themselves as victims and ultimately felt that there was no other option than to commit suicide. Sadly, this is not a unique scenario. All over the country, many of the older citizens drown in similar incidents where the fights are for land, properties, or different resources leading to a breakdown of the family relations. These wrangles usually become very psychological and lead to elder members of the family suffering emotional and psychiatric abuse.

The Legal and Social Outcomes

While this vicissitude focuses on property disputes to the exclusion of other factors, and understands nursing homes and property management apart from harassment of the elderly, the tragedy makes one wonder what measures are available to assist the elderly from harassment. Whether or not there are specific laws such as the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, which is designed to rescue elderly parents not to be neglected or abused in India, these cases continue to happen and bring to the fore the limitations of legal protection.

Property related elder abuse in India is still one of the most common forms of elder abuse. In some circumstances, elderly parents are induced to transfer their property to their children during their lifetime, fostering their dependence on people who may take undue advantage of them. Indeed, many old people in the villages have given up hope and view all others as inactive and unhelpful when such disputes come up.

Ongoing Investigation

The authorities in Nagaur are working to verify claims made in the suicide notes left by the couple. The police have said that particular family members named therein shall be included in their further investigations and charges were stated to be sought where appropriate. At this point, however, there has been a loss of life which is an irreversible injury to the family and so this inquiry will be about how to ensure that such deaths do not occur again under the same scenario.

Such conclusions bring home the need for settling property disputes in a just and humane manner, and using legal channels where necessary, if people are not to resort to such extreme actions. This also highlights how elder abuse has many facets and needs to be tackled as one of the major societal problems alongside the need for better institutions and policies for aged persons in India.

Conclusion

It is however a sad portrayal of the increasing propensity for family disputes, over property ownership, in India; when any couple of the old or aged Indian races becomes a child’s father and mother, they graduate from being sons and daughters to being horrific persecutors over property. It emphasizes the urgency to have robust legal frameworks to be enforced in order to shield the aging population from such atrocities and outrage towards the family tryouts. Elderly people should not be neglected and driven to such abhorrent extremes where they are forced to end their own and a spouse’s life for a possession battle.