A senior journalist Aakashdeep Shukla died of suicide on Monday. Shukla allegedly underwent mental trauma over “constant threats of criminal cases” from his wife and her parents, according to journalist and filmmaker Deepika Bhardwaj.
The Delhi-based Aaj Tak journalist allegedly hanged himself at his home in the city. Filmmaker Deepika Bhardwaj took to X (formerly Twitter) to say that Shukla “killed himself today”. In the tweet, she said that she spoke to Shukla, who worked as assistant editor with Aaj Tak since 2021, on Sunday. The Noida-based journalist allegedly underwent mental trauma at the hands of his wife and her parents. Bhardwaj alleged that Shukla’s court marriage was done under pressure. He also allegedly received continuous threats of criminal cases.
According to Bhardwaj, she told Shukla during their Sunday phone call that they will sort the issue out. “I spoke to @JournoAakash for 20 mins yesterday. He told me about the mental trauma he’s facing because of his wife & her parents. He was under constant threats of criminal cases. His court marriage was also done under pressure. I told him we will sort it. BUT HE KILLED HIMSELF TODAY,” Bhardwaj said in the tweet.
Shukla was physically assaulted, Bhardwaj alleges. In a separate tweet, Bhardwaj revealed the details surrounding events — including physical assault — leading to Shukla’s alleged suicide. The senior journalist is said to have told Bhardwaj that his wife allegedly called him names on social media, thus spoiling his image.
“Akash shared that the woman he got married to had sullied his image by calling him names on social media. He couldn’t afford to lose his career so he compromised & did court marriage. Now his father-in-law was pressuring him to do a social function, spend lakhs when he didn’t have that kind of money,” Bhardwaj shared in the tweet. “He was in deep stress clearly & was worried for his parents. He also felt he was the one who had brought this problem on to them. There’s so much more he shared. He was physically assaulted too when they had fights. I am unable to comprehend this.”
Shedding light on the events leading up to Shukla’s demise, his close friend Jagrati Shukla told the Free Press Journal that he was under immense stress due to personal matters. Jagrati Shukla said that an intense argument had erupted between Shukla and his wife on Monday morning, in the presence of his another friend. After the argument, Shukla allegedly locked himself within his room and took his own life by hanging.
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