Councillor suicide: Husband held for dowry harassment, in-laws absconding

The husband of a Congress councillor who was found dead along with her baby daughter has been arrested for dowry harassment, police said Friday.

Pawan Yadav, 28, was arrested late Thursday night under section 304b (causing dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code. "A case of dowry death has been registered against her in-laws," a police officer said.

Satyam, 26, of west Delhi's Nangloi area, was found hanging inside her home around 8 am Thursday, while the body of her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter was found lying on the bed. Investigators said it appeared that the councillor first strangled her daughter and then hanged herself. Satyam's family alleged her in-laws were demanding Rs ten lakh and a car from them. They also alleged her in-laws did not allow them to meet her.

Satyam, a native of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, had moved to Delhi in 2010 after her marriage to Pawan Yadav, a teacher in a municipal corporation school. She had a masters and B.Ed degree and was a councillor from ward number 43 in Nangloi (East).

Satyam's family members registered a complaint against her in-laws alleging that she was murdered over dowry. "Her in-laws were demanding Rs10 lakh and a car. We went to Delhi to bring her to Bulandshahar for a function. But they refused to let her come and said they will not allow her until the money is paid," her brother alleged.

An inquiry by a sub-divisional magistrate rank officer has been ordered.