UP woman strangled to death over dowry demands; in-laws booked

Uttar Pradesh: A woman in Uttar Pradesh was allegedly killed by her in-laws nearly two months after her marriage for failing to meet dowry demands, police said on Thursday. While the family of the accused claimed the woman had died by suicide, her relatives alleged she was strangled by her husband and his family.

The deceased, Roshni Vishwakarma, was married to Pradeep Vishwakarma of Sadashiv Patti village under Koirauna police station limits on March 6 through the Uttar Pradesh government’s 'Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana'. According to a First Information Report (FIR) registered based on a complaint by Roshni’s brother, the groom’s family was unhappy with the dowry received and pressured Roshni’s family to conduct another wedding ceremony on May 31 as a means to extract more gifts and money.

Following the second ceremony, the FIR states that Roshni’s in-laws began harassing her with persistent demands for gold jewellery and cash. On June 15, Roshni was allegedly killed at her in-laws’ residence. The accused then transported her body nearly 20 kilometres to the Gopiganj Community Health Centre, reportedly in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Inspector Amit Kumar Singh of Gopiganj police station confirmed that four persons — Roshni’s husband Pradeep Vishwakarma, his mother Radha Devi, father Balram Vishwakarma, and sister Poonam — have been booked under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (relating to cruelty by husband or relatives of the husband) and relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

The case is being investigated under the supervision of Circle Officer Chaman Singh Chawda.

With PTI inputs