"He has also tried to strangulate me once."
Rekha Rani, aged 36, from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, filed a complaint against her husband and in-laws for beating her and demanded more dowry.
She told the court of sub-divisional judicial magistrates that her husband, his mother and his sister subjected her to cruelty and then asked her for more dowry.
Police registered a case against the accused and are working to arrest them.
Rekha said that she got married on January 24, 2015, in Kalka, Haryana. Her parents spent a lot of money on her marriage.
She said: “My parents gave everything ranging from household items, cash to gold and silver jewellery.”
A few days after the wedding, the victim’s husband and in-laws began demanding more dowry from her.
“After a few days of my marriage, my husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law’s behaviour changed towards me and they started demanding more dowry.”
The initial demands for dowry escalated and Rekha was verbally abused and insulted by the suspects. Her husband became physically violent towards her when he consumed alcohol.
She said: “My in-laws, including my husband, started taunting, insulting and behaving with me.
“My husband used to thrash me under the influence of alcohol. He has also tried to strangulate me once.”
When Rekha was due to give birth, she alleged that the accused denied her of any medical attention. It was her parents who paid for her medical bills.
“It was then that my parents had to intervene and pay all my medical bills.
“My husband and his family members did not even come to see the child after delivery.”
Based on what Rekha told the court, police officers at Kalka police station registered a case under Sections 323, 406, 498-A and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
The charges corresponding to the sections were: Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt, punishment for criminal breach of trust, the husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty and punishment for criminal intimidation.
Assistant sub-inspector Jai Singh, who is investigating the case, said:
“We have registered a case based on the directions from the court. The investigation is on. The accused will be nabbed soon.”
In another case, a woman was abused as a result of dowry. The unnamed victim from the Bengaluru area spoke about her abuse at the hands of her husband and in-laws.
The accused refused to give her food and also did not allow her to have a bath.
She told police and they filed a case against the woman’s husband and in-laws.
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