Rajkumari Devi Raya, 25, consumed poison while husband Rajkumar was out on duty. She died on the spot while daughter Gunja, who had been breastfed just before her mother´s death, was rescued after treatment in the district hospital, said Sarlahi Police. The infant has been sent back to her deceased mother´s maternal home.
“She was born into poverty and things didn´t change even after her marriage five years ago. So, she committed suicide,” said her mother Malkiniya Devi. Rajkumari was born into a squatter family and lived in a hut at the roadside in Chandranagar-8 before her marriage. Her in-laws also don´t own anything except a hut.
Rajkumar is a driver and the couple had difficulty making ends meet. Rajkumari´s father Bharat Raya rued the day he married off his only daughter to a poor family -- the decision, he believes, ultimately took her life. “The villagers deceived us saying they owned one-and-a-half bighas of land,” Bharat said struggling to hold back tears.
The couple had been living on their own after separating from Rajkumar´s parents. Inspector at the District Police Office Lal Bahadur Sah said the couple used to have regular spats over financial matters. Mother-in-law Anupiya Devi can´t see any reason for suicide of Rajkumari who, she says, never quarreled with anyone.
Related story
Poverty: A Multidimensional Problem, Nepalese Context
