
A video recorded by 40-year old Puneet Khurana, a Delhi-based bakery owner, before taking his own life has surfaced days after he was found hanging in his Model Town residence on Tuesday.
In this video, Khurana can be seen accusing his estranged wife Manika Pahwa and her family of torturing him mentally before he took the extreme step.
"We have already filed for a mutual divorce on certain agreed terms and conditions. When it comes to mutual divorce, there are certain terms and conditions, which we have mutually agreed upon," Khurana can be heard saying in the video accessed by India Today TV.
He can also be heard saying in the video that he was about to die by suicide since he did not have the capacity to pay additional ₹10 lakh that his wife and her family were seeking.
The deceased bakery owner alleged his estranged wife and in-laws pressurised him to agree to new conditions, which, he said were beyond his scope.
"They are asking for another ₹10 lakh, which I don't have any capacity to pay off. I asked my parents to pay for it. They have already paid enough because of me," he said.
He added that the couple committed to respect the court and agreed to fulfill the conditions for mutual divorce, that were initially agreed upon, within the stipulated time period.
"We have signed a bond in court. We have committed to respect the court and agreed to fulfill those conditions within a stipulated time period that is usually allocated by the court for 180 days. We are approximately 90 days through the stipulated time period and another 90 days are left," Khurana further said.
Meanwhile, another video has surfaced in the case, wherein Khurana can be seen speaking to his father-in-law Jagdish Pahwa about the transfer of ₹2 crore for a house. The house was registered in the name of Puneet's estranged wife.
Khurana's family, however, claimed that Pahwa later went back on his promise. They said that they had an audio clip wherein Pahwa can be heard denying his previous statement about the transfer of ₹2 crore. This video was dated October 12, 2023.
They alleged that Puneet was under tremendous pressure due to such instances, while claiming Pahwa often resorted to threats after going back on his promises.
Khurana, the co-owner of a bakery named For God's Cake, was found dead by hanging at his residence in north Delhi's Model Town on Tuesday. His family alleged that his wife had been torturing him and even dared him to kill himself.
The bakery was a major bone of contention between the couple in their divorce negotiations. They also co-owned Woodbox Cafe, which shut down a couple of years ago.