Dad fights for justice for the dead daughter

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad, March 22: A father’s tireless fight for justice neared fruition on Saturday with authorities agreeing to seek a CBI probe into his daughter’s suspicious death two years ago. Ansu Varughis, an MNC employee, was found hanging in her house at Banjara Hills in 2006. While police termed it suicide, her father, Mr A.M. Kuruvilla, alleged that it was murder.
“We have a sought a CBI probe into the case,” said the Crime Investigation Department inspector general, Mr S. Umapathi. “As of now, the case is with the CID.” Ansu’s husband, Mr Ribu John Varughis, had reportedly been harassing her for money. On June 18, 2006, Mr Varughis said he found Ansu hanging on a window bar in their flat at Banjara Saman Apartment. Banjara Hills police registered a case of suspicious death and the CID later altered it into dowry death.
The CID Women Protection Cell Deputy Superintendent, Dr B. Vittal, who investigated the case, concluded that Mr Ribu, 34, director of a media company, had been torturing his wife for dowry and was responsible for her death. Following this, Mr Varughis was arrested by the CID on December 2006. Mr Varughis married Ansu in 2000 June after taking Rs 5 lakh and 50 sovereigns of gold as dowry. But he continued to harass her, demanding that her father should buy a flat for him.
However, the investigators did not agree with Mr Kuruvilla’s allegation that Ansu had been murdered. Mr Kuruvilla told this correspondent from Chennai that the initial postmortem report had stated that there was an injury on her skull. "But there was no possibility of her suffering such an injury by hitting the window bar," he said. "My daughter was beaten up and strangled and experts had said the injury also indicated that."
Dr K. Janardhan of Osmania General of Hospital said in his postmortem report that the death occurred because of hanging but also suggested that investigators should probe the reasons for the contusion on the skull. The CID also found that the Banjara Hills police didn’t conduct its investigation as per Supreme Court guidelines on dowry deaths and recommended action against the police officers.
After Mr Kuruvilla alleged foul play another autopsy was conducted by Prof. Surender Reddy of Gandhi Hospital and Prof. Narayana Reddy of OGH. They said there were no injuries other than the ligature mark of hanging. The AP Forensic Science Laboratory report also said that there was no sign of poisoning but another expert not support the suicide theory. Next it was the turn of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which termed it a suicide.
There were also other discrepancies. The inquest report stated there were no ornaments on the body but the photograph of the deceased showed that she was wearing a chain, rings and wrist watch. The CID also found out that the main door of the flat was locked from outside. Mr Kuruvilla, who firmly believed that his daughter was killed, continued his fight for justice. He also started a blog to present his case. The decision to hand over the case to the CBI has brought him some relief.
He has now filed a petition with the SHRC to direct church authorities to allow him to conduct the last rites of his daughter again in a proper manner. Ansu was buried in a church at Ramachandrapuram without proper Christian rituals since it was believed she committed suicide. "I want to take her remains to Kerala and bury her in our family vault at Kottayam with all the proper rites," said Mr Kuruvilla.