A man, his sister, and his mother have been arrested in Kerala in connection with the death of his 22-year-old wife.
Published Jul 13, 2022 | 7:35 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 26, 2022 | 11:11 AM
The arrests came only after the constant protests by various groups and activists. (Creative Commons)
The Kerala Police on Wednesday, 13 July, arrested a man, his sister, and his mother 42 days after the death of his wife.
The 22-year-old Dalit woman had been found hanging under suspicious circumstances at her rented residence — a stone throw away from the Kerala High Court.
The arrests came only after the constant protests by various groups and activists.
The activists claimed that the state police added sections related to harassment over dowry and from the Dalit Atrocities Act to the case only due to the protests against the department over its handling.
The victim had been identified as Sangeetha Sanjeevan, a Dalit woman from the Pulaya community.
The Kerala Police have slapped charges under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 304B (dowry death and relevant provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act) against the three people who have been arrested.
They identified the arrested as the deceased woman’s husband B Sumesh, his mother Ramani, and sister Maneesha.
Rubbishing the claims of social activists, Kochi Commissioner of Police CH Nagaraju told South First: “There were no lapses from the police in investigating the case.”
The commissioner added that there was a delay in the arrests as the investigating teams were collecting strong evidence against the suspects.
“During our investigation, we learnt that the victim was harassed for dowry by her husband and in-laws,” he said.
Nagaraju also claimed that Sangeetha was not treated as an equal individual by her in-laws.
“The man’s family provided separate plates and glasses for her use. She was also not allowed to use the house furniture either,” added the commissioner.
He also said Sangeetha took the extreme step after her husband said he would break all ties with her.
The victim’s father, Sanjeevan, told reporters that his daughter had to visit a psychiatrist and undergo counselling due to the regular mental harassment by her in-laws for dowry and for being born to a Dalit family.
“I received ₹50,000 as Scheduled Caste development aid a few months ago. My daughter’s husband called me regularly and demanded the money as a dowry. I gave him the money, believing they would stop harassing my daughter mentally and physically,” he said.
