Arif Ansari was found dead by his new Hindu wife in a motel in Prayagraj, India. The couple was attempting to petition the court for protection as they, participants in an interfaith marriage, felt under threat. The couple had gotten married on August 30th of this year.
The official cause of death according to local police is a suicide. However Khursheed Ansari, the deceased’s father, suspects there is another reason for the death of his only son and is demanding a full investigation.
“On September 8, we received a call that my son was found dead at a lodge. Police claim that he committed suicide but that is not the fact. He would have not gone to arrange for a lawyer if he wanted to commit suicide. My son has been killed and now attempts are being made to pass off the murder as a suicide. I demand a fair investigation into the case and justice for my only son,” Ansari said.
The motel that he was staying at is located directly across the street from the court.
Arif and his wife, who’s name is being withheld, had known one another for a year and decided to get married. However his wife’s family was completely against the interfaith marriage. Once the family noticed that the couple had left the area of their native Gorakhpur, the wife’s mother filed an abduction complaint with the local authorities.
Once Arif became aware of the legal action taken by his wife’s family, he sought legal protection by trying to hire a lawyer and going to the court.
Shortly thereafter, his wife found him dead in bed. The police said that he committed suicide by injecting a toxic substance into his body.
Station House Office at Civil Lines police station Virendra Singh stated, “Primary investigations and questioning from her (his wife) suggest that Arif was depressed and ended his life,”
