Repeated torture, 24-hour surveillance: Chilling details emerge in Lucknow womans suicide case, family alleges dowry harassment
Shweta's family alleged that she was mentally tortured on daily basis and was even barred from meeting her family.
PTC News Desk: What was meant to be a happy start of new life turned into a countdown to Shweta's final day. 26-year-old Shweta Singh was found hanging at her marital home in Lucknow, barely six months after her marriage. The victim's family has accused her in-laws of inflicting serious mental distress leading her to take such a drastic step.
The harassment began on the wedding day itself the groom and his father demanded Rs 10 lakh and a Scorpio car at the time of vidaayi (farewell), according to Shweta's two sisters Komal and Jyoti.
They further said that the money spent on the wedding was already far more than their financial capacity, yet they were pressed with more demands including Rs 10 lakh and a Scorpio car, forcing their father to fall on his knees, and hold Bhupendra's feet with folded hands.
Bhupendra did not utter a word, and instead dragged Shweta to the car, without letting her say a proper goodbye to the family, the two sisters alleged.
Repeated torture, 24-hour surveillance, forced to quit work
Shweta's family alleged that she was mentally tortured on daily basis and was even barred from meeting her family. Bhupendra would not let Shweta speak to her family and kept her under constant surveillance. In case Shweta visited her ailing mother, her husband would create chaos.
Shweta, who worked in the debit card department at HDFC Bank, was allegedly made to quit her job soon after her marriage was fixed. According to her family, she was assured that she would be allowed to return to work a few months after the wedding. However, they alleged that her husband Bhupendra Singh and his family wanted her to remain a homemaker, which reportedly became a frequent cause of arguments.
According to the police complaint, Shweta had spoken to her father nearly two hours before the news of her death reached the family, and had also spoken to her sister about an hour earlier. Her family said there was nothing unusual in her behaviour during those conversations, and they did not suspect anything was wrong.
By the time Shweta’s family reached her marital home, her in-laws had already taken her to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Shweta’s family has filed a complaint with the Lucknow Police, accusing the Singh family of carrying out a “pre-planned murder” of their daughter.
Police have arrested Bhupendra Singh and his father, Kaushlendra Singh, and are currently questioning them as part of the investigation.