MANILA, Philippines–“Sometimes I make you mad. Sometimes you get pissed at me…I love you.. I can’t leave you alone.”
This in a nutshell, according to the police, was what a 27-year-old Indian national mysteriously wrote in a letter addressed to her husband before she was found dead in their condominium unit in Pasig City on Tuesday.
The letter written by Priva Banga was found on a table in the couple’s bedroom in their unit on Kaimito St., Valle Verde 2 in Barangay Ugong, the same room where her body was found, Police Officer 3 Eduardo Pablo, case investigator, said.
The victim’s husband Guarav Banga, also an Indian national and a call center agent, told the police he had just arrived from work when he discovered the body of his wife with the end of a scarf wrapped around her neck, and the other end tied to a wooden ceiling fan at 4:30 a.m.
He told the police he cut the scarf, took her body down, and called up medical personnel from The Medical City, who in turn gave the victim first-aid but declared her dead at 5:30 a.m.
The handwritten letter in English did not have a date, but the male Banga remembered seeing it a few days ago in their unit, according to Pablo.
Despite its existence, SPO1 Rolly Lipata, investigation chief, said as of now, the police have not ruled out foul play in the death of the woman, who was a housewife.
He said the police would have to wait for the results of the autopsy on the victim’s body before making any conclusions.
“I don’t consider the letter a suicide note because the victim was not saying goodbye in the letter,” Pablo added.
He said he had been trying to extract more information from the male Banga, but he was “secretive (malihim).”
Pablo said he did not find an exchange of angry messages between the couple in their cellphones, but that a guard manning the gate near the Bangas’ home said that a few days ago, the male Banga was “restless (hindi mapakali),” going in and out of the condominium unit.
“Maybe they were already fighting then,” Pablo said, but refused to call the husband a suspect until autopsy results had been released.
Pablo said there were no apparent external injuries on the victim except for a ligature where the scarf had been wrapped around her neck.
He said the couple, who had been living in the country for a year, had an 18-month old baby girl.
The baby, he said, was born in India.
“In fact (the victim) gave birth in India. The couple arrived here with their baby only on Saturday. They stayed in India for around three months,” Pablo said.
Lipata said the Bangas did not have any criminal record with the police.
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