Pregnant defence ministry officer found dead in Dwarka, husband booked
A 30-year-old pregnant woman working as an Assistant Section Officer in the Ministry of Defence was found dead at her home in Bharthal village, southwest Delhi’s Dwarka, on Friday. The Delhi police has registered a case of cruelty and abetment to suicide against her husband and in-laws a day after her family initially made no allegations against them.
Police said the information was received through a PCR call at 4:21 pm on August 21, reporting an alleged suicide at Village Bharthal. The call was assigned to Sub-inspector Satpal Dagar, who reached the spot with police staff and took the body into possession.
The concerned SDM was informed immediately, and the body was shifted to DDU Hospital’s mortuary as per procedure.
“Police acted promptly upon receipt of the PCR call, and all necessary legal and procedural steps were taken without delay,” the DCP of Dwarka district said in a statement, adding that further investigation into the matter remains in progress.
The deceased was identified as Nazia Khanam, daughter of Towab Khan. She had married Mohammad Azam Ali Khan, who works as a supply chain manager in Gurgaon, on April 11 this year, according to Muslim rites and customs. She was three months pregnant at the time of her death.
According to police, the couple had gone to a hospital for a checkup on the day of the incident. After returning home, they got into an argument, following which Khanam locked her husband in one room and herself in another, before taking her own life, a senior police officer said.
On the same day, family members of Khanam appeared before the Executive Magistrate and submitted written statements. At that point, they raised no suspicion or allegation against her husband or any member of her matrimonial family, police said.
However, the next day, on August 22, Khanam’s parents appeared again before the SDM and submitted a fresh statement, this time levelling allegations against her husband and his family. In their complaint, the family alleged that the husband had been physically assaulting and mentally harassing Khanam, which drove her to take the extreme step, according to a senior police officer.
Based on this subsequent complaint, police registered FIR No. 214/2026 on August 22 under Sections 85 and 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Sector 23, Dwarka police station. Section 85 pertains to a husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty, while Section 108 relates to abetment of suicide. Khanam’s family has additionally demanded that Section 80, relating to dowry death, be added to the FIR.
Khanam’s husband is currently absconding, police said. The exact circumstances leading to her death, along with the allegations raised by her parents, are being examined as part of the ongoing investigation.
The case has drawn attention for the shift in the family’s account within 24 hours, from submitting statements without any allegations on the day of the death to filing a formal complaint naming the husband and in-laws the very next day. Police said the discrepancy between the two statements would form part of their investigation as they work to establish the sequence of events leading up to Khanam’s death.
Officials said further legal action would follow as facts and evidence emerge during the course of the investigation, with the case currently being probed under the cruelty and abetment to suicide provisions, pending additional findings that could determine whether further charges, including those related to dowry, are warranted.
