Tragic end: Berkeley to Indore,Akanksha Rathi life revolved around Anirudh

Akanksha attended school at the Convent of Jesus and Mary (CJM) before joining Jesus and Mary College (JMC) in Delhi University. She went on to attend University of California,Berkeley where she met husband Anirudh.

“Anirudh and Akanksha met at a GMAT class and started dating. In 2000,they went to Cardiff University for management degrees. Anirudh returned to India after a year but Akanksha stayed back. She had made it to Lancaster University and was among the top two students to graduate,” her mother Anita told Newsline.

Though Akanksha landed a job in the UK immediately after that,she returned to India as Anirudh “never wanted her to work”. According to Anita,Anirudh’s family were opposed to the match. But he managed to persuade his family and the couple tied the knot in 2004 at Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi.

A few months after the wedding,the couple moved to Indore to look after a new factory that Anirudh’s grandfather had set up there.

“They worked like a team. It was like their baby. Akanksha was very happy. She was mad about Anirudh and he too loved her deeply. Sometimes,we would tell them to have a social circle but they were happy to be with each other,” Akanksha’s brother Sarthak said.

According to Akanksha’s family,the situation changed after Anirudh’s grandfather passed away. Anirudh had his first epilepsy attack in 2008. Things took a turn for worse after their Indore factory was sold off in January this year.

“Anirudh was badly affected by this. His epilepsy attacks intensified and he also developed heart problems. Both of them were very upset about the factory being sold off,” Anita said.

On September 4,the couple had dinner and went for a walk. Late into the night,while they were watching television,Anirudh had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital,where doctors declared him dead.

“We received the news from Akanksha’s father-in-law. She had informed him and was completely shaken. We all took the next flight to Indore and returned after the cremation,” Anita said.

Akanksha had already gone into depression after the Indore factory was shut and was being treated at Apollo and Max hospitals.

Akanksha also approached the police in Indore and lodged a case of harassment in women’s police station against her in-laws. By then,she had gone deep into depression. She refused to dress in coloured clothes,avoided any communication and would weep often. On the wall of the balcony in the Dwarka house,she had scribbled: “Anirudh,I love you”.

Around 2 pm on October 23,Akanksha told her father she was going to rest in her room.

When Singh went to her room at tea-time,she was unconscious. He rushed her to the hospital,where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Anita was away at a relative’s place then. “Before leaving,I had hugged her twice. I did not know then that those would be our last hugs.”