Crypto-Christian In-Laws Pressured My Daughter to Convert and Drove Her to Suicide, Says Father

Sangli, Maharashtra: For Dr Chandrakant Laxman Patil, a respected veterinarian from Maharashtra’s Sangli district, his worst fears came true on the evening of June 6, 2025. His daughter, 26-year-old Rutuja Rajge, seven months pregnant, was found hanging in her bedroom at her husband’s house in Ashwini Housing Society, Kupwad.

Dr Patil says this was not merely a case of domestic discord but the tragic culmination of relentless religious coercion, dowry harassment and sustained physical and emotional abuse.

According to the complaint filed by Dr Patil, the suicide was the final chapter of a systematic campaign to force his daughter to abandon her Hindu faith and submit to the religious expectations of her in-laws.

Dr Patil’s statement formed the basis of FIR number 0106/2025, registered at MIDC Police Station, under Sections 108 and 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 35(2) and 35(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The complaint names Rutuja’s husband Sukumar Suresh Rajge, mother-in-law Alka Suresh Rajge, and father-in-law Suresh Rajaram Rajge, for abetment to suicide and prolonged cruelty.

The Father’s Account: Marriage Concealed Under False Pretence

Following are the allegations by Dr Patil, filed in his complaint to the police as well as given in statements to the media:

His daughter was married to Sukumar Rajge, a Merchant Navy officer, on 24 May 2021 at a Hindu Dhangar ceremony held in Malgaon.

What he didn’t know at the time, and what would later haunt him, was that Sukumar and his family were practicing Christians, a fact that was never disclosed prior to the wedding.

The first signs of trouble emerged within a month. During the Vat Pournima festival in June 2021, Rutuja was prohibited by her mother-in-law from performing Hindu rituals. Later that year, when Dr Patil invited the newlyweds home, they declined.

Rutuja confided that her father-in-law had instructed Sukumar not to visit unless a gold ring was provided, a demand that struck the Patil family as both insulting and extortionate.

Religious and Emotional Harassment (2021–2023)

As months passed, Rutuja increasingly found herself trapped between her faith and the demands of her in-laws. During her first Diwali at her marital home, she was forced to attend church prayers and discouraged from observing Hindu customs.

When Rutuja’s relatives attended the housewarming ceremony for Sukumar’s Pune flat in November 2021, they were stunned to learn that the Rajges had already performed Christian rituals and dismissed the gifts and presence of Hindu well-wishers.

In January 2022, while Sukumar was abroad, Alka blamed Rutuja for her son’s misfortunes, including his phone falling into a ship toilet, calling it a punishment for not praying to Jesus. The harassment turned physical and verbal again in April 2023, when the in-laws forced her to attend church in Khatibnagar, Miraj, and rebuked her resistance with emotional and physical cruelty.

Fearing for his daughter’s well-being, Dr Patil brought Rutuja back to Gundewadi, where she stayed for several months. A family meeting in July 2023, involving Sukumar, extended relatives, and village elders, resulted in temporary assurances from the husband, who promised to take better care of Rutuja.

However, only days after returning to her marital home, Rutuja informed her father that Christian priests frequently visited the house and the pressure to convert had resumed.

Rutuja Isolated, Humiliated while being Pregnant (2024–2025)

The abuse escalated even as Rutuja became pregnant. In March 2024, after attending a Hindu temple during her brother’s wedding, she was berated again. After accompanying Sukumar on his ship between September 2024 and February 2025, Rutuja returned to Pune pregnant. But instead of joy, her pregnancy brought further torment.

Her in-laws allegedly demanded more money, claiming the Patils hadn’t given enough dowry. On 17 February 2025, Dr Patil transferred ₹50,000 to his daughter via PhonePe. But the monetary demands only grew. In March, when Rutuja attended a traditional Kakan Choli ceremony hosted by her maternal uncle, her in-laws ridiculed the event, stating that such Hindu traditions were not welcome in their home.

By May 2025, Sukumar insisted on conducting Christian pregnancy rituals (garbha sanskar). Rutuja objected, and on 22 May 2025, he allegedly assaulted her. Days later, on their wedding anniversary, Sukumar caused a drunken scene at a relative’s home. When Rutuja later questioned him, he allegedly beat her again.

Final Visit, Final Words

On 3 June 2025, Dr Patil and a cousin visited Rutuja in Kupwad. She was alone, her husband and in-laws were at church. She appeared distressed and recounted how Alka had seized her jewelry and told her it was because her family hadn’t given enough during the wedding. She was also being pressured to extract money from her father to fund house construction. Most chillingly, her mother-in-law allegedly told her she had “ruined Sukumar’s life” by refusing to convert. This jibe came after Sukumar’s phone accidentally fell into the commode.

Three days later, on 6 June, Sukumar phoned him at 7.45 pm, saying Rutuja had been found hanging in her bedroom. When Dr Patil and relatives arrived, they found her lifeless body suspended from a ceiling fan. Rutuja, and the child she was carrying were gone.

Legal Action and Arrests

Based on Dr Patil’s complaint and a suicide note allegedly left by Rutuja, police registered a case against Sukumar Rajge, Alka Rajge, and Suresh Rajge. Police have mentioned the note in the media but not revealed it.

The MIDC Police Station invoked Section 108 of BNS (abetment of suicide), Section 85 (cruelty by husband or relatives), and applied Sections 35(2) and 35(5) of BNSS to ensure due legal process in the arrests. All three accused have since been taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing.

Hindu Groups Protest

Women’s groups, legal advocates, and Hindu organizations have rallied around the case, calling for urgent reforms and stricter enforcement of laws against the phenomenon of crypto-conversion and religious coercion, particularly in interfaith marriages.