‘Don’t want property, just remove my name from Rs 2.5 crore loan’: How Punjab doctor’s marriage ended in tragedy

JALANDHAR: A 37-year-old doctor, Dr Minakshi, was found dead at her residence on Wednesday, following which police booked her husband, an eye surgeon, on charges of abetment of suicide.Dr Minakshi was posted at the Civil Hospital in Kapurthala. Her husband, Dr Piyush Sood, runs a private hospital, National Eye Care Hospital, on Kapurthala Road in Jalandhar.The couple had been living separately since last year.Harassment, abuse and financial pressureIn his complaint to the police, Dr Minakshi’s father Parmod Kumar, a resident of Jalalabad in Fazilka district, alleged that his daughter faced prolonged harassment from her husband.He accused Dr Sood of having extramarital affairs, physically abusing his daughter and allegedly involving her in financial liabilities.According to the FIR, soon after their marriage in 2018, Dr Minakshi took a loan of Rs 35 lakh to help her husband establish his hospital. The complaint stated that she repaid the loan instalments from her salary.Dr Minakshi’s mother Neelam told police that her daughter would sometimes call her after alleged assaults by her husband, saying that although he had beaten her, he later apologised and she would try to resolve the matter. Neelam alleged that things changed last year when Dr Minakshi realised she could no longer continue living with him. She said her daughter then made only two demands from her husband — removing her name from the alleged Rs 2.5 crore loan and returning the money she had paid towards a loan taken for setting up his hospital. “She would say that she would try to settle things. However, last year, when she realised that she could not live with him anymore, she put only two demands before him — remove her name from the Rs 2.5 crore loan and pay back around Rs 70 lakh for the Rs 45 lakh loan she had taken for him after their marriage, as she had repaid the entire amount,” Neelam said. “She told him that she did not want any share in the property. She only wanted these two things to be done so that they could file for mutual divorce. But he did not listen and instead caused her more mental harassment,” she alleged.Discovery of husband’s affairThe complaint claimed that in 2023, Dr Minakshi allegedly discovered that her husband was involved in extramarital relationships.While looking into the matter, she allegedly found a video showing Dr Sood with another woman. The clip was later submitted to police as part of the complaint.The family initially attempted to resolve the matter through counselling, urging Dr Sood to change his behaviour, according to the complaint.‘He assaulted my daughter’: Family’s allegationsDr Minakshi’s father alleged that the situation later worsened and claimed that Dr Sood began physically assaulting his daughter.The FIR quoted him as alleging that in 2025, Dr Sood attempted to kill Dr Minakshi by strangulating her.Following the alleged incident, Dr Minakshi approached the police helpline and later moved into a rented accommodation, the complaint stated.A Rs 2.5 crore loanThe complaint further alleged that when Dr Minakshi later approached a bank while planning to buy a house in Jalandhar, she discovered through her CIBIL report that a loan of Rs 2.5 crore had allegedly been taken in her name without her knowledge.According to her father’s complaint, she confronted her husband and his father, Yogeshwar Sood, and asked them to remove her name from the loan.He alleged that she was threatened by Sood after raising the issue.Probe UnderwayThe complainant alleged that the alleged harassment, abuse and financial burden caused severe mental distress to Dr Minakshi and contributed to her death.Based on the complaint, police registered a case against Dr Piyush Sood at Division No. 6 police station under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with abetment of suicide.Police are investigating the allegations.