Sergeli tragedy: The situation requires a thorough investigation

Everyone was saddened by the suicide of a woman and her three children in the Sergeli district, Tashkent city. A 27-year-old woman first threw her 5-year-old and 4-year-old sons from the 9th-floor, and then jumped down with her 1-year old daughter, as a result, all four of them died on the spot.

Reportedly, in October 2022, a fire broke out in a two-story house in the Zangiota district of Tashkent region, where the deceased woman lived with her husband. According to the information of the Prosecutor General’s Office, because of this fire, the woman and her three children came to her mother’s 2-room house located in the Sergeli-8 district and started living there. “These circumstances had a negative effect on her psyche”, the prosecutor’s office said.

There are rumors on the Internet that the woman set fire to the house herself. Abdubosit Yuldoshev, chairman of Nazarbek mahalla in Zangiota, where the family lived, did not deny this in an interview with Kun.uz.

“This apartment is located next to the mahalla office, I know very well that they have never filed an appeal. In fact, there was a fire in the house a long time ago, about 80 square meters were damaged. The firemen made a report that the fire was caused by a short circuit, and I signed it as the mahalla chairman. After 3-4 days, I saw the masters repaired the house,” Abdubosit Yuldoshev said.

The chairman of the neighborhood explained that the woman and 3 children were living in Sergeli because their house was repaired after the fire.

“When I heard about the tragedy in Sergeli, I called the groom’s mother. She spoke in tears: “At that time, our daughter-in-law burned the house, but since we have three grandchildren, we did not tell anyone. We kept it a secret to protect the family”, the chairman said.

A friend of the deceased, whom we spoke to, denied the accusation of setting the house on fire.

“She also told about her house burning down. At night, while putting her children to sleep, she noticed that her house was on fire. When she noticed the fire and alerted her husband, he said that the car should be taken out first. When she came to her mother’s house because her house was on fire, she was happy because she got rid of that house.

But I did not notice that she was depressed, that there was any change in her mentality. I was shocked when I heard it, I couldn’t believe it. I can’t say that she was an impatient woman. When her husband’s relatives came to reconcile, she did not go back. She said that she would not go home, she would not return to the house that humiliated her so much.

When her husband’s relatives came to reconcile, they set a condition for her. They said that she will agree to her husband’s marriage to another woman, and live in the same house with her.

Recently, my friend’s mother told me that she resisted when she said: “Your husband’s relatives are coming, tidy up the houses”, her friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

Another sad event in the family happened during the pregnancy of the bride.

“Even when she was pregnant, she was beaten, so her little child was born at 6.5 months old. That’s why she was raising her with great difficulty,” the woman’s friend noted.

The mahalla chairman said that this situation was different:

“I know the case in detail. On March 30, 2022, the bride fell while pregnant with her last child. Then Ambulance came. They registered the case via “02” service. When we went to get information, they concluded that the cause of her fall was her condition during pregnancy and anemia”.

We also visited Sohibqiron mahalla of Sergeli district, but it was not possible to find either the mahalla chairman or his deputy in charge on women’s issues. Only one of the mahalla activists, Kobiljon Rasulov, said that he could give a brief opinion about the family:

“I have known this family since 1990. A model family, I have never heard of any conflict with anyone. I only know that his daughter is married”.

Another source told us that the deceased woman was the second wife of her husband (he was officially divorced from his previous spouse). The husband is said to be abroad at the moment.

During the investigation, it was not possible to confirm or deny the various information about the family that were circulating on social networks. Several witnesses familiar with the incident didn’t want to speak to the mass media, though on condition of anonymity.

Kun.uz hopes that the causes (perhaps also the persons) that led to the tragedy and mental stress of the deceased will be investigated and legally evaluated by the court.

It should be noted that the criminal case was opened under the articles of intentional homicide and suicide.