Anurag Aggarwal and Monica: death pact?

‘Till death do us part’, is the popular vow by couples on wedding day in many parts of the world, swearing to stick together, until death cometh.

In India, two women have re-written  the vow, according to a report by Indian Express on Wednesday. Death will no longer be  the defining separator from their loved ones, rather they prefer a death pact, preferring to  die together with their husbands.

According to the Indian newspaper, an hour after her husband died due to a cardiac arrest, a 36-year-old woman committed suicide by jumping from the eighth floor of her  flat Tuesday in the city of Noida, 25 kilometres from the capital, New Delhi.

According to Noida police and residents of Prateek Laurel in Sector 119 — where the couple lived — Anurag Aggarwal (39) was rushed to Fortis Hospital following complaints of chest pain Tuesday afternoon.

“He died in the hospital after a cardiac arrest at 2 pm. His wife, Monica Aggarwal (36) jumped from the balcony at around 3 pm. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. The couple have a six-year-old daughter,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (Noida City) Anoop Kumar.

In a similar incident on November 16, Assistant Commissioner of Police Amit Singh, allegedly shot himself with his service revolver. Upset over his death, his wife had jumped from the balcony of their fourth floor residence in Noida’s Sector 100, minutes later. Two days after the incident, she succumbed to injuries. They are survived by an 18-month-old daughter.

Guards and residents of Prateek Laurel said Anurag had complained of chest pain on Tuesday afternoon.

“His wife had also gone with him to the hospital. Around 2 pm, doctors told the family that he had passed away. She could not accept this news and was not willing to leave his body. The family brought her back to the flat. We think she locked the balcony door from outside before she jumped. We immediately rushed her to hospital,” said a guard.

Neighbours said the family had taken their bodies to Haridwar for their last rites. “Their parents are very old and we don’t know who will look after the child…,” said a neighbour.

Police said Prateek was a software engineer at Tech Mahindra while Monica was a housewife.

*Originally reported by The Indian Express newspaper