Pune: 29-year-old IT employee found hanging at home; family alleges gold demand

A 29-year-old married IT employee was found hanging in suspicious circumstances in Mukundnagar, Pune, on Monday, causing alarm across the neighbourhood. The woman has been identified as Payal Akshay Zambare. Her family has directly alleged that her in-laws subjected her to mental and physical harassment over dowry and repeated demands for gold.

Payal's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in an old flat in the Akshay Heights society in Mukundnagar. The area falls under the Swargate police station, which is investigating the case. Payal worked at a well-known IT company. She married Akshay Zambare five years ago, and the couple have a four-year-old daughter.

Payal's cousin, Janardan Pawar, has made serious allegations against her in-laws. He said that every year since the marriage, the in-laws had demanded 5 to 10 tolas of gold at Diwali. This Diwali, the financial condition of her natal family was poor, so they requested, "Wait until next year, we will meet the demand." Pawar alleged that the in-laws still put heavy pressure on Payal and the harassment at home continued.

Swargate police reached the spot soon after being informed. They called in a forensic team and drew up a panchnama. Payal's body has been sent to Sassoon Hospital for further medical examination and post-mortem. Police are also closely examining CCTV footage from the building.

Swargate police are conducting a thorough investigation from all angles to establish whether it was suicide or foul play. The allegations made by Payal's family are also being looked into. Attention now turns to what the post-mortem report and forensic examination reveal.