The victim, Shilpa, who had previously worked with IT giant Infosys, had been married to Praveen for about two-and-a-half years. The couple has a one-and-a-half-year-old child.
In yet another alleged dowry harassment-related death, a 27-year-old woman was found hanging at her home in Bengaluru on Wednesday, police said. The woman’s husband was arrested for allegedly abetting suicide.
The family of the woman, identified as Shilpa, alleged that constant dowry harassment by the victim’s in-laws drove her to die by suicide.
Police have arrested Shilpa’s husband Praveen, a former software professional.
Shilpa, who had previously worked with IT giant Infosys, had been married to Praveen for about two-and-a-half years. The couple has a one-and-a-half-year-old child, and her family said Shilpa was pregnant again.
In their complaint, Shilpa’s parents stated that Praveen’s family initially demanded Rs 15 lakh in cash, 150 grams of gold jewellery and household articles before the wedding.
They alleged that despite fulfilling these demands, Shilpa was repeatedly pressured for more money and valuables after marriage. Her uncle, Chennabasayya, said the family had made huge financial sacrifices to meet these expectations.
“We got her married in a grand way three years ago. We sold our house and spent Rs 40 lakh on the wedding. We also gave her 160 grams of gold ornaments at the time of marriage,” Chennabasayya said.
According to him, the demands continued even after marriage. “A few months ago, he had taken another Rs 10 lakh from us. They now have a one-and-a-half-year-old child, and she is pregnant again. At the time of marriage, he claimed to be a B.E., M.Tech graduate. But for the past two years, he has been selling pani puri,” he added.
Chennabasayya also raised suspicions about the circumstances of Shilpa’s death.
“Inside the house, there was no chair or anything placed under the fan. The fan was also not at a height easily reachable to anyone. There were no signs of the door being broken either,” he said.
