Koderma (Jharkhand), June 9 (IANS) The body of a 26-year-old divorced woman, Ayushi Chawla, was found hanging under mysterious circumstances at the residence of her live-in partner in Jhumri Telaiya town of Jharkhand on Monday, officials said.

Ayushi, a resident of Parsabad under Jainagar police station limits in Koderma district, had been living with her partner Harsh Sonkar, who runs a fruit shop in Chitragupta Nagar, for the past two years.

According to police, Harsh told investigators that he left home around 6 a.m. for his shop, and shortly afterward, received a call from Ayushi saying she was going to take her own life.

He claimed he rushed back home to find her hanging from the ceiling fan. She had allegedly died by the time he took her down.

Harsh informed both the police and Ayushi’s family about the incident.

A police team soon reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination.

Investigations are underway to determine whether it was a case of suicide or if foul play was involved.

However, Ayushi’s mother has accused Harsh of murdering her daughter and staging it as a suicide.

“He killed her and is pretending it was suicide,” she alleged during police questioning.

According to the family, Ayushi had earlier been married to a man from Jhumri Telaiya in 2018, but the marriage ended in divorce after five years. She later began living with Harsh.

Post-divorce, Ayushi worked as a coordinator at an old-age home on Addi Bangla Road in Jhumri Telaiya and had been staying at Harsh’s house. She also has a six-year-old son who currently lives with his maternal grandmother.

Family members said that recently, Ayushi had shown interest in remarrying and had even agreed when the topic was raised with her.

“We had started looking for a match for her,” a family member said, adding that they are shocked by her sudden death.

Police have registered a case and are interrogating Harsh and other close contacts. “We are examining all angles, including the possibility of abetment to suicide or murder. The autopsy report and forensic findings will be crucial in determining the cause of death,” said a senior police officer.

–IANS

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