Two Indian Teenagers Commit Suicide After Being Forced To Marry Against Their Will

The bodies of Asha Shrikant Burud and Swati Umesh Zanjare – both 19 – were found by police hanging from a tree in a jungle and their deaths were immediately declared suicides.

They went missing ten days after being married off in a mass ceremony at the start of the month in Ambegaon taluka, western India. They were reported missing after their families last saw them as they set off to gather wood and fruit in a nearby forest.

Police said they probably committed suicide because they were married off against their wishes.

Inspector Girish Dighavkar of the Ghodegaon police station said, ‘Based on the primary investigation, we believe that the two have committed suicide. Though we are yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the deaths, we suspect that the two ended their lives as they were married against their wishes.

‘We are yet to record the statements of the family members, relatives and others. It is only after the probe we would be able to confirm the reason.’
Inspector Dighavkar said both the girls were from farmer families and were married into a similar households.