Rohit Shekhar Tiwari's mother Ujjwala on Thursday said she had warned her son about Apoorva but he did not pay any heed and by killing her son, Apoorva had finished off the entire family.
She said Apoorva had served two legal notices to Rohit after she left him around May last year, a few days after their marriage, and would often call her son "mama's boy".
"The legal notices threatened Rohit with criminal or civil action if he did not reconcile with her. She used to level baseless allegations in those notices and all this was happening while he was hospitalised," Ujjwala told PTI.
On September 12 last year, Rohit had a surgery and the next day, Ujjwala was supposed to meet Apoorva at their lawyer Vedanta Verma's house, but while she was waiting for Apoorva, Rohit informed her that he had reconciled with his wife.
"Apoorva hassled us at that time. I told her that Rohit was in hospital. It was only then that she agreed to meet me at the lawyer's residence. But then, Rohit told me they had reconciled. I told him, 'Why did you do this? She could have taken divorce by mutual consent and even maintenance.'
"Right from day one, she had issues with me, his brother, Rajeevji (a close family aide) and his family, who are very close to us. She would call Rohit 'mama's boy' and often tell him, 'why don't you leave your family'," Ujjwala recalled.
The 75-year-old woman said Rohit had reconciled with Apoorva at that time because he wanted his father (former Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand chief minister ND Tiwari) to have a peaceful last journey.
"He told me, 'there has been a lot of controversy around our family and if I separate from my wife, it would lead to more controversies. Let me give her time till June and she might change'," she said.
Ujjwala said doctors had told them that Tiwari had very little time left and Rohit did not want to malign his father's reputation.
Tiwari, who was ailing for some time, passed away in October last year.
Ujjwala said Apoorva had issues with Rohit's concern for his family even during their courtship days and they had decided to take a break in December, 2017.
"Even during their courtship, Rohit had decided in December 2017 that he would not marry her, but on April 2, he called me to say he wanted to marry Apoorva.
"We were supposed to meet another woman on April 3 for Rohit, but when he told me about Apoorva, I agreed," she said.
Apoorva had told Rohit that she loved him and had offered prayers for him at various temples, which had melted his heart, Ujjwala said.
"Now she is trying to ruin my son's image by floating fabricated stories like he used to drink from the same glass as his sister-in-law.
"She is a modern, educated woman. How can she have such conservative thoughts? In a family, people often share meals, drink from the same glass. Rohit and his sister-in-law were not the only two persons in that car. There were others too," she said.
Ujjwala said they never questioned Apoorva about her lifestyle or her frequent visits to her maternal house in Indore.
"If Apoorva was so possessive about Rohit, why did she leave him during the six-month recovery time after his surgery in September?
"She went to Indore for about a fortnight in December, then again on January 30 and returned on February 14 for Valentine's Day. She celebrated Rohit's birthday on February 15, went to Indore again on March 3 and came back on March 30," she said.
Ujjwala said Rohit would stay alone at their Defence Colony residence and meet political leaders since he wanted to join politics, while Apoorva would be away in Indore.
The elderly woman, who broke down often while talking about Rohit, said her son never got his due.
"Rohit was never honoured for what he achieved. He won a paternity suit and that case paved the way for several important judgments thereafter. But none of the women's organisations honoured him and not even any political party. I will probably write a book on his struggles. By killing him, Apoorva has killed me and finished off my entire family," she said.
Rohit Shekhar Tiwari was allegedly smothered and strangulated to death by his wife, Apoorva, on the intervening night of April 15 and 16. Initially, it was suspected to be a case of natural death, but his autopsy report said he was smothered, following which the Delhi Police Crime Branch took over the probe and arrested Apoorva on Wednesday.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
