Farmer, parents sentenced to 10 yrs in jail for dowry death in Pilibhit

Pilibhit: A 30-year-old farmer and his parents were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for subjecting his wife to cruelty over additional dowry, which drove her to suicide in Pilibhit's Dharmapur village in 2022.An FIR was registered on June 9, 2022, at Puranpur Kotwali police station under IPC Sections 498A (cruelty by husband or relatives), 304B (dowry death), and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, based on a complaint filed by the woman's brother, Vikas Kumar, a resident of Kheri. Police filed a chargesheet against the trio on Oct 28, the same year.In his complaint, Vikas stated that he married off his sister, Rekha Devi, to Raja Ram on May 21, 2021, and gave sufficient dowry. However, Raja Ram and his parents—Shri Ram (55) and Tarawati (54)—were dissatisfied and allegedly subjected Rekha to repeated harassment for additional dowry. Vikas said he attempted to resolve the issue several times, but the harassment continued.On the day of the incident, Vikas said he received a phone call informing him that his sister had been killed by her in-laws. When he reached her matrimonial home, he found her body lying in the veranda, while the accused had fled, according to the complaint.However, the post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death as asphyxia due to ante-mortem hanging, ADGC Vimal Kumar Verma told TOI.Based on the autopsy report findings, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mahesha Nand Jha observed on Monday that "Rekha was subjected to cruelty for additional dowry, which compelled her to take the extreme step". The saree used in the suicide was later recovered during the investigation, Verma said.He added that Raja Ram was arrested shortly after the incident and remained in jail as his bail pleas were rejected by the sessions court and the Allahabad high court. His parents, however, were granted bail by the HC on January 9, 2023. The court also imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 30,000 on the three convicts.