New Delhi/Bhagalpur: A tragic case from Delhi has shocked Bihar and beyond after a woman, Chandni Devi, 31, originally from Bhagalpur, died by suicide while her husband recorded the incident on his phone instead of stopping her. The distressing video, lasting just over a minute, has gone viral and shows her tying a noose around her neck while her children cry in the background.
The incident occurred in the Ghazipur police station area, where Chandni lived with her husband, Vidyanand Rai, originally from Muzaffarpur. Police have since arrested him.
The video reveals Rai goading his wife as she prepares to hang herself. At one point, he can be heard saying: “Will you just keep tying the noose or will you hang yourself too?” He also scolds the children for crying, telling them coldly to “let her go if she wants to.”
In the footage, Chandni is seen fashioning a noose from a bedsheet, standing on a small table before stepping off. Her final moments are captured as she struggles for breath, while her daughter’s sobs fill the room.
Family members allege years of harassment led to her death. According to Chandni’s relatives, Rai had taken a loan of around Rs 4 lakh from a microfinance company in her name and was unable to repay it. Under pressure from loan collectors and frequent taunts from her husband — who allegedly told her to “go and die” — Chandni’s despair deepened.
Her brother, Rakesh Mandal, said he had spoken to her the day before the incident. The next morning, he received a call saying, “Your sister is no more.” He claimed the family has since been threatened not to travel to Delhi.
Chandni leaves behind three children, the youngest only five. Relatives insist her husband’s actions amounted to abetment to suicide, with her brother stating bluntly: “He murdered her because of this loan.”
The police have registered the case and are investigating the role of Rai and the alleged financial pressure that preceded the tragedy.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050, Tele Manas – 14416 (available 24×7) or Call, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
