Sreerag Love Killed Him

Gayathri wracked by guilt over her deadly stratagem
Her rejection is being cited as the reason for Sreerag ending his life
Sharath Sarma Kalagaru bmfeedback@indiatimes.com


    Be happy and be cherished for what you are. Let others be jealous of how happy you are but never let a gaze fall on you...” techie Sreerag wrote to his unseen girlfriend before committing suicide. But his last wish has turned into an antithesis for 23-year-old Gayathri.
    Instead of being happy, this telemarketing employee is now reeling under guilt. Instead of making others feel jealous, she is being sneered at for the prank that went wrong. Instead of not letting a gaze fall on her, she has become the cynosure of all eyes. While Gayathri has been weeping inconsolably for the last five days, the police point towards her and say, “We would not have been investigating this case had both Sreerag and Gayathri been straight and frank with each other.” She is now in depression.
    Sreerag, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, committed suicide inside his car in Mahadevapura after his marriage proposal was turned down by Gayathri, whom he became close with on a social networking site in January. Gayathri had introduced herself as Jennifer and mailed him a friend’s photograph, claiming it was her. After looking at the photograph, Sreerag was head over heels in love. But he got dejected when Gayathri told him that she was engaged to a London resident and took the extreme step.
    “I was a bit scared when I received his e-mail, but I never thought he would end his life. I thought he was threatening, like boys usually do in such situations. When I heard of his death on television, I started trembling out of fear. I didn’t know how I became close to him, I was very happy that he was in love with me.
    But with his death, I am only filled with guilt,” a police officer quoted Gayathri as saying.
    Gayathri reportedly told the police, “I was hardly noticed by guys. When Sreerag came in, I became close to him on the phone and through chat. When he insisted on seeing me, I sent him the photo of a good-looking girl as I did not want him to be disappointed. I feared losing him. I was very happy that someone was in love with me. But when his interest became intense, I did not have the courage to go before him. I cooked up a story that I was getting married to another guy. I wanted him to move on, but did not expect him to end his life.”