Family awaits justice

Gurgaon court to hear the case on December 4

It's been a year since Neha Chhikara, a former air hostess, committed suicide after allegedly being harassed for dowry by her husband and in-laws. However, her family is yet to get justice.


Crash: Neha, a former air hostess, had married Ankit in October 2008.

Almost a year after his daughter jumped from the 11th deck of a cruise ship in the Bahamas on January 1, Neha's father Suresh Chhikara is intently waiting for December 4. That's when a Gurgaon court may put his daughter's alleged killers on trial.

Suresh had moved court after the Haryana authorities failed to act on a report by the US administration regarding the suicide by Neha and an e-mail sent by her minutes before she jumped overboard.In the e-mail to her family, Neha had alleged that her husband saying "I have lost the strength to live. I am depressed." She had claimed that her husband threatened her to get her detained in the US and handcuff her and lock her up in a cell on the ship.

The Gurgaon court had issued summons to three accused - Ankit Dalal, SS Dalal and Nirmala Dalal on August 31, 2010, under section 304B and other relevant sections asking them to appear before the court onSeptember 21, 2010. After they did not appear on the said date, they were again summoned to be present in the court on October 21, 2010. There was a strike in the court on that day so the accused were asked to appear before the court on December 4, said Suresh, a director of a shipping corporation.

In their report to their Indian counterparts, the US authorities said Ankit informed them eight hours after Neha went missing. The US authority has also mentioned a few incidents from Neha's personal diary.