Mumbai: Dowry claims another life

We may be living in the 21st century but it is sad that women still have to face dowry harassment at the hands of their husbands and in-laws. On Tuesday afternoon, a 25-year-old woman committed suicide as her in-laws kept troubling her for dowry, the girl’s parents allege.

Sapna Pathaniya, hanged herself from the ceiling fan in the bedroom of her Manvel Pada residence in Virar (E). She was married for four years.
The Virar police have arrested her husband and in-laws. They were produced before the Vasai Court on Tuesday. The victim’s body was sent to a Primary Health Centre in Virar for post-mortem.

“On several occasions, my daughter had complained to us about her disturbed marriage and her husband’s parents demanding for a flat and money. They have even physically assaulted her. This mental pressure drove her to end her life,” said Kiranpal Marothiya, 53, Sapna’s father.

The Marothiyas reside in Ulhasnagar.

”In 2012, Sapna was brutally beaten up. After that, she came to our residence and we gave her some money and gold. But soon, they started exploiting her for more money. On February 18, she had called her mother and said that she doesn’t want to continue with this marriage and wanted to come back home. We asked her to have some patience. It was our mistake and now we want her in-laws punished,” Marothiya added.

“We have arrested Sapna’s husband Umesh Pathaniya, her father-in-law Mahendra Pathaniya, her mother-in-law Anokhi Pathaniya and sister-in-law Rekha Satnami under sections 498A (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 304B (Dowry death), 306 (Abetment to suicide) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. They have been remanded in police custody till February 22,” said Asif Baig, investigating officer from Virar police station.

@imranfazaldna