Dowry claims another life

Harassment for dowry  by in-laws led a 22-year-old woman to commit suicide by jumping into a lake near Thane prison on Saturday morning. The deceased, Naseem Pawaskar, was married to Faiyaz Pawaskar in November 2006.

Naseem’s parents had registered a missing complaint registered with the  Thane police station on July 20, while Naseem herself had filed a complaint against her in-laws at the same police station for dowry harassment in April. She had since been living with her parents in Rabodi till July 19. However, on the day some women activists took Naseem to her in-laws place and asked them to accept her, which they did, but continued to harass her.

Tired of the unchanging situation, Naseem went missing since July 19 evening. “My daughter suffered torture from her husband and in-laws. As we couldn’t fulfil their demands they removed Naseem from their house. This is a murder. The torture forced her to commit suicide,” said Naseem’s father Anwar Khan.

Police have booked Naseem’s husband Faiyaz, 25, father-in-law Ibrahim, mother-in-law Feroza, 50, and sister-in-law Shahista Pathan, 24, under Sections 306, 498 and 34. “We arrested Ibrahim Pawaskar on Sunday and the other three accused are absconding, we have launched manhunt for them. Ibrahim has been sent to majesterial custody,” said police inspector SG Jawde.