The reasons behind the successive suicides of two sisters in a hamlet near Jodhpur remain unclear eight days later, with conflicting claims of sexual assault, extortion, and slow police response. The women, aged 32 and 30, died on March 20 and May 15 respectively. Authorities have detained two men on gangrape charges, while the suspects’ relatives allege the sisters engaged in blackmail.
The sisters came from a Nagaur village roughly two hours away. Both were married on the same day, each had two children, and their husbands worked as migrant laborers. Their 22-year-old brother accuses police of delay. He says he accompanied the younger sister to lodge a complaint on April 11, yet officers registered the FIR only at 9 pm after repeated discouragement.
The elder sister’s husband learned in February that a neighbor was allegedly threatening her with videos unless she paid money. On March 20 he confronted the man at their home. The woman then consumed pesticide and died en route to hospital. Initial statements to police cited depression rather than naming anyone.
The younger sister filed the FIR against eight local men, claiming years of extortion totaling four to five lakh rupees. She also alleged she was drugged and assaulted at an e-mitra center. After weeks without arrests she climbed an overhead tank on May 15 and threatened to jump. Hours later she ingested pesticide and died despite efforts to bring her down.
The station house officer states officers tried to negotiate before she took the substance. The superintendent of police denies foot-dragging, noting two arrests, ongoing questioning, and forensic examination of phones for video evidence. Relatives of the accused maintain the younger sister had been blackmailing one of the men following a prior relationship.
