Beth's Blog

Is it just ME, or do you, too, feel outrage when you hear stories that just don’t add up?

As an American woman having lived my entire life in New York, USA, I remain stunned at the conditions of women in other parts of the world.  This is not by virtue of naiveté, but one of hope.

All of us would have hoped that by now, governments, culture, communities.  individuals, would have come to understand the true meaning of humanity towards our fellow man.  That lesson, perhaps, years ahead of the one still left to be learned; humanity toward women.

Last evening I was shocked to hear what is now a local story to those of us living in the suburbs of New York City on Long Island, New York, USA.  When anything hits close to home, I guess it becomes more real.  To hear the voice, to look into the eyes, to hear the story of a sister about a sister,  broke my heart.  I share the story, below:

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) –

Priyanka Puri told reporters on Monday that she heartbroken over the loss of her beautiful younger sister, Bhoomika Kochhar, 25. The family from Syosset, Long Island, has many unanswered questions surrounding Bhoomika’s death in Nepal.

Bhoomika was well educated. She had a family in the United States that loves her. She had a bright future ahead of her. Instead of planning for that bright future, Bhoomika’s family is in mourning after she died last month in Nepal.

Bhoomika moved there to be with her husband, Akaash Jatia, who she met while studying at Boston University. The two fell in love. 


Despite the reluctance of her parents, they got married in an extravagant affair in Nepal in 2011. The pictures were even featured in a wedding magazine.

But things quickly changed.

Priyanka said her sister’s marriage was filled with abuse at the hands of her husband and his parents.

“We have learned that she was regularly and persistently yelled at, locked in rooms, denied food, ridiculed and demeaned, restricted in movements outside the home and subject to mean-spirited discipline,” Priyanka said.

The Kochhar family said Bhoomika was unhappy so she was planning to end the marriage and come home. Then on June 15 Bhoomika was found dead inside her home in Nepal. Police ruled the death a suicide.

But her family says the details simply do not add up, especially the suspicious behavior of Bhoomika’s husband, Akash, and his family.
“On the day of Bhoomika’s death, Akash Jatia brought her to a hospital but provided a false name for Bhoomika and a false identity for himself,” Priyanka said. “To this day no member of the Jatia family has contacted my mother my brothers or sisters or I. No one attended the funeral services for my sister.”

The Kochhar family recently contacted Rep. Steve Israel to help get the government of Nepal to investigate this tragedy.

“I am going to seek a suspension of a scheduled U.S. assistance bill, foreign aid to Nepal, until the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu can certify there is a full and fair investigation into the death of Bhoomika Kochhar,” the congressman said.


There has been an outpouring of support on social media. The Facebook page “Remembering Bhoomika Kochhar” has thousands of “likes.”

As the Kochhar family mourns Bhoomika’s death, they say they are hoping to get some answers.

They’re ultimately hoping for justice for Bhoomika. They say she didn’t deserve to be mistreated.


Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/22905577/li-family-of-woman-who-died-in-nepal-wants-answers#ixzz2ZsXKZ4kI

So, IS it just me, or do you, too, believe we are all  victims in the mistreatment of women, children – the mistreatment of anyone, anywhere?  We must be outraged; we cannot turn a blind eye, nor a deaf ear.  Please, reach out to those you feel are too afraid to share their story, to those who you feel need to be heard.  Let them know you are there; that may be their most empowering first step in changing their lives.