Home India News US officials submit report on Neha’s death, no arrests yet

US officials submit report on Neha’s death, no arrests yet

By IANS,

Gurgaon: The US authorities probing the death of Neha Chikkara, who reportedly jumped overboard from a cruise ship in the Bahamas on the night of Dec 31 after complaining of harassment for dowry, has submitted their report to Haryana’s vigilance department, which is investigating the case.

Neha’s husband Ankit Dalal and his father S.S.Dalal, who was earlier posted as chief medical officer in Gurgaon, are accused of harassing Neha for dowry and forcing her to commit suicide.

Neha’s parents said that while the US report indicted Ankit, the Haryana vigilance department has not questioned him.

“The vigilance department hasn’t called Ankit to join the investigation. The US authorities have mentioned a few incidents from Neha’s personal diary and confirmed the authenticity of mail sent by Neha minutes before her death,” her father Suresh Chikkara said.

In the mail to her brother sent half an hour before she went missing, Neha said she didn’t have the courage to bear the torture again and again.

Neha’s family said she frequently alleged ill-treatment by her in-laws.

“She always used to tell us how her husband and in-laws are harassing her. They even transferred all her money into their account a few days after the marriage. They also used to beat her and once dislocated her jaw,” her cousin Anuj Ahlawat said.

The US report said that Ankit informed police eight hours after Neha went missing.

According to the Coast Guard in Bahamas, crew members aboard Royal Caribbean’s ‘Monarch of the Seas’ reported Neha Chikkara missing as the ship was headed from Nassau to CocoCay. Security camera footage showed the 23-year-old woman going overboard from the 11th deck early that morning. Bahamian government officials reviewed the footage and determined that the woman jumped overboard.

Neha was working as an air hostess with Indigo airline but had joined ‘Monarch of the Seas’ as a public guest relation manager.