A lesbian couple ended their lives in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Monday by jumping into the Sabarmati river, PTI reported. They jumped after throwing a three-year-old girl, who was the daughter of one of the women, into the river. Same-sex relationships are at present illegal in India. Fire and emergency services personnel retrieved the bodies of 30-year-old Asha Thakor and 28-year-old Bhavna Thakor. The child, Asha Thakor’s daughter, was alive when rescued from the river but was declared dead at the hospital. Bhavna Thakor’s brother-in-law said her husband had ended his life on June 8 after she left home, The Times of India reported. The women purportedly left a suicide note written in lipstick on the bank of the river. “We have left this world to live with each other,” the note read. “The world did not allow us to stay together. We did not have any men with us.” Another note found at the site said: “This world did not allow us to stay together. When will we meet again? When will we meet… perhaps in the next birth… we will meet again.” Ahmedabad Police Inspector MS Singh said Asha Thakor’s brother-in-law appeared to have known about the women’s relationship. “It appears that they first threw the child into the river before jumping off the Ellisbridge,” Singh told the Hindustan Times. Asha Thakor’s husband, Himmatsinh Thakor, is being treated at a local hospital after he took ill following the incident. The two women worked with a private firm in Rajoda. Bhavna Thakor is survived by two sons. Similar cases In 2001, in Kerala two tribal girls were found dead near an irrigation canal after their families refused to let them marry. In 2008, two women set themselves on fire in Chennai after their families tried to separate them. In 2011, two women killed themselves in Nandigram in West Bengal, stating in their suicide note that they could not live without one another. And two years later, two young women fled to Bengaluru from Kerala hoping to live together away from their disapproving families. Indian law and homosexuality Section 377, which dates back to the British colonial period, criminalises anal and oral sex, referring to it as “unnatural sex”, and states that it is “against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”. It prescribes a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. In 2009, the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 to decriminalise sexual activity between members of the same sex. However, in 2013 the Supreme Court set aside the order. In January, the top court said it would revisit the constitutional validity of the section and referred it to a Constitution bench.<doc-sep>A lesbian couple jumped to their death in Gujarat's Sabarmati river yesterday, after leaving behind 'suicide notes' near Ellisbridge. The deceased have been identified as 30-year-old Asha Thakor and 28-year-old Bhavna Thakor. "The two women committed suicide due to complications arising out of their lesbian relationship," an official said. A message scribbled on a parapet wall near the Sabarmati river with red lipstick, said, "We have left this world to live with each other. The world did not allow us to stay together. We did not have any men with us,". Another message, scribbled in the same fashion, was found on a disposable plate nearby: "This world did not allow us to stay together. When will we meet again? When will we meet.. perhaps in the next birth we will meet again." Reports say one of the women, who was married to a man and had a three-year-old daughter, first threw her child into the river before jumping in herself. The child was still breathing when she was rushed to the VS Hospital, but the doctors then declared her dead on admission. The official said that both the women worked at the same private company in Rajoda village of Ahmedabad district. While Asha Thakor lived in Bavla area, Bhavna Thakor resided in Rajoda village. (With PTI inputs) READ MORE: Mumbai lesbian couple meets Romeo-Juliet's end: One dies from suicide attempt, one survives<doc-sep>By PTI AHMEDABAD: A lesbian couple allegedly committed suicide after throwing a three-year-old child of one of them in the Sabarmati river here today, the police said. The women also scribbled a suicide note along the riverfront's concrete walkway near Ellisbridge where they jumped into the water body, an official at the Sabarmati Riverfront (West) police station said. They purportedly mentioned in the suicide note that they had "distanced themselves from the world so they could unite, but the world did not let them live," he said. "The two women committed suicide due to complications arising out of their lesbian relationship," the official said. One of them, who was married to a man and had a three-year-old daughter, first threw the child into the river before jumping along with the other woman into the water body by tying themselves with a 'dupatta', he said. The deceased were identified as Asha Thakor (30), Bhavna Thakor (28) and Megha (3). The official said that both the women worked at the same private company in Rajoda village of Ahmedabad district. While Asha Thakor lived in Bavla area, Bhavna Thakor resided in Rajoda village, the official said.<doc-sep>
AHMEDABAD: Two married women in a lesbian relationship ended their lives — killing the three-year-old daughter of one of them — by plunging into the water from the Sabarmati riverfront on Monday. The fire brigade team fished out bodies of 30-year-old Asha Thakor and Bhavna Thakor (28) that were found floating on the river near Gurjari Bazaar side.Asha’s daughter Megha was breathing when brought out and rushed to the VS Hospital where doctors declared her dead on admission.The women from Bavla town near Ahmedabad expressed their anguish at the society’s resistance to their relationship by writing on the riverfront’s parapet wall with red lipstick.“We have left this world to live with each other. The world did not allow us to stay together. We did not have any men with us,” their message read.They also left a message on a paper-dish stating: “This world did not allow us to stay together. When will we meet again? When will we meet.. perhaps in the next birth… we will meet again.”Asha, who lived in Ghanshyam Residency in Bavla, got married 10 years ago and had two daughters - Megha and another aged six. Bhavna, a resident of Rajoda village near Bavla, had two sons — one 14 and another 13 years - after 15 years of marriage. Their parents had arranged their marriages.MA Singh, police inspector, Sabarmati riverfront (west) said, “Early on Monday, police received a call that bodies of two women and a girl were floating on the side of Gurjari Bazaar. We found khaman (snack) from their bag, which revealed that they had fed Megha before throwing her into the river. Bhavna was identified from the Aadhaar card found in her bag and her relatives were informed about the death.”The women’s bodies were tied to each other with a stoll.Sources said that the women were in a relationship for past six to seven months when they started working together in a factory in Bavla.“After community members took a strong objection to their relationship, they had decided to run away from their homes to get rid of societal pressure. On June 8, they left their houses with Megha to start a new life but ended committing suicide,” said sources.