This braveheart daughter lost her life while protecting her mother. And the alleged killer is none other than her own father.
At IFORHER, we are mourning the death of this brave daughter, who lost her life while saving her mother from the snatches of her abusive father. This heartbreaking incident is a lesson for each one of us, who either choose to stay or tell others to stick in an abusive marriage for the sake of kids.
So What Happened?
When 19-yo Sheelam saw her mother suffering at the hands of her father, she gathered the courage to rescue her from a scuffle that took place between the couple. But, what happened next would leave you heartbroken. This father smothered his own daughter to death with a pillow.
While recalling the heartbreaking details, SHO shared with TOI:
“The autopsy report confirmed that the victim was smothered to death. Later, the accused buried his daughter to avoid arrest. A father of three children, Dinesh is a habitual alcoholic and often engaged in physical fights with Shakuntla. On Tuesday night, the accused came home heavily drunk and engaged in a heated argument with Shakuntla. When Sheelam attempted to intervene in order to rescue her mother, he took his daughter to another room and smothered her to death with a pillow.”
As per the sources, the accused later buried Sheelam’s body near the Yamuna river bank and fled. Later, the victim’s mother along with her brother went to the river to retrieve her daughter’s body.
Though the investigation is still on and the absconding father is yet to be arrested, this incident shows the ugly reality of mothers & their kids suffering in an abusive marriage.
Our society raises daughters with a rudimentary thought process of sticking around in an abusive marriage. What breaks our heart is when women, who are strong and financially independent, choose to suffer in silence.
Also Read: Husband Or Worst Enemy: How This Brave Mom Fought To Save Daughter From Husband’s Abuse
When a few brave souls gather the courage to leave an abusive marriage, they are asked:
How could you leave your husband?
What will society say?
What will happen to your kids?
More often than not, many strong women accept to stay back in a toxic relationship just for the sake of kids’ better future. She believes the lies that society tells her about how kids from broken homes are also broken or how incapable she is of taking care of the kids. Finding herself alone to stand against the abuse, she accepts and agrees to suffer in silence. But sadly, no one tells her how kids get affected if she continues to stay in a toxic marriage. No one tells her the misery and the suffering that kids go through when they see one of the parents abusing the other.
To all those mothers, who have been told to stay in the abusive marriage, we hope you would learn from this heart-wrenching incident, before its too late.
RIP Sheelam! We are in awe of your courage and your love for your mother!