Woman allegedly tortured to death for dowry in Ghaziabad

The victim's father Sanjay Sharma said that when they married, a Baleno car and other gifts were presented to the groom but the in-laws kept asking her for more dowry

Woman allegedly tortured to death for dowry in Ghaziabad

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Ghaziabad: A woman from Noida, who was married in Ghaziabad in 2017, was killed for dowry on early Friday in in Sadarpur locality, the victim's father alleged on Friday. On the basis of his complaint, the police have registered a complaint. The police said Pinki Sharma (25), a resident of Bhangel Gautam Budh Nagar, was married to Happy Sharma on February 23, 2017.

The victim's father Sanjay Sharma said that when they married, a Baleno car and other gifts were presented to the groom but the in-laws kept asking her for more dowry. They also tortured her. The distraught family said the groom's family informed them that she had tried to commit suicide. When the family reached the hospital, she was already dead. "A complaint under sections 498 (a), 3,4 and 304 (b) has been registered. The body has been sent for autopsy and investigation has been initiated," police officer Atish Kumar said.

Supreme Court Ruling

A woman, who is forced to leave her matrimonial home due to harassment, can file a case against her estranged husband and in-laws at the place where she resides thereafter, the Supreme Court ruled on April 9, 2019. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that a woman, who is forced to leave her in-laws' home due to commission of cruelty on her, is allowed to initiate criminal proceedings under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code from any place she sought shelter in -- be it a temporary arrangement or from the residence of her parents. The judgment, which comes as a big relief for the victims of dowry harassment, settles the debate on the issue regarding the place of filing of the case under the above section. Earlier, criminal proceedings could only be initiated by complainant from the place where the offence occurred as Section 177 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) made it compulsory that a criminal case shall be filed and the trial should be conducted in courts which had jurisdiction over where a crime occurred. The apex court has identified cruelty as a continuing offence under Section 498A, and the woman can file a dowry harassment case from the place where she has sought shelter.