Pune IT engineer Payal Zambare found hanging; husband held, family alleges murder

A 29-year-old IT engineer, Payal Pawar Zambare, was found hanging in Pune on November 2. Her husband, Akshay Zambare, has been detained by Swargate police. Her family says she was harassed for years over money and gold, and some relatives now say she was killed.

Payal was the daughter-in-law of the family that owns Zambare Palace, a well-known wedding hall in the Maharshi Nagar area. She lived in Mukund Nagar. One account of the case says she died at her own home. The family's version says her body was found in an old flat in a housing society called Akshay Heights in Mukundnagar. The two accounts have not been reconciled.

On the basis of a complaint by the Pawar family, Swargate police registered a case of abetment of suicide. Reports name the husband, the mother-in-law, the father-in-law and the sister-in-law as accused, though the latest account of the case lists only the husband and her in-laws, and says a search for the other accused continues. Akshay Zambare is being questioned. Police have said the remaining suspects will also be questioned.

According to the family, the in-laws phoned at about 7 am to say Payal had left the house. When her relatives got to the spot, they found her dead. Her husband and his parents had fled by then.

The Pawars say Payal faced continuous mental and physical harassment from the time of the wedding. They allege she was repeatedly pressed to bring more money and gold from her parents. They say 5 to 10 tola of gold was demanded every Diwali. Payal's family are farmers. They say they cited drought and asked for time until the next season, but the harassment did not stop.

The complaint also describes earlier episodes. It says that in 2022, when Payal was pregnant, she was mentally harassed to make sure she had a son. A daughter was born on March 30, 2023. The complaint says the in-laws came to the hospital, quarrelled, and refused to take responsibility for Payal or the baby.

The relatives have also gone beyond the suicide allegation. They say Payal did not take her own life but was murdered. They describe her as educated and of a very calm nature, and say she could not have done this under any circumstances. They have demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into both possibilities, murder and suicide.

News of her death led to anger. At around 2 pm on Monday, a crowd of 15 to 20 people, among them angry relatives from Payal's side, reached Zambare Palace in Maharshi Nagar. They entered the building and badly damaged the furnishings inside. The attack in broad daylight on a well-known hall in the heart of the city caused fear and tension in the neighbourhood.

Swargate police then deployed heavy security at the palace and the area around it as a precaution. Payal's body has been sent for post-mortem.