Woman Suspected of being a ‘Witch,’ Beaten to Death

Vishakhapatnam, June 05, 2012

Mamidi Atchayamma, a 45-year-old housewife was beaten to death on suspicion of being a “witch.”  The villagers stripped her, died her to a tree, and while her family begged for mercy, they beat her to death.  Report here

Woman and her Daughters Burnt and Killed Over Dowry

Ethah, Uttar Pradesh, June 16, 2012

A married woman in her mid-20s and her two daughters aged three years and eight-months were set on fire and killed by the woman’s in-laws.  The woman’s brother said that the in-laws had been demanding more dowry since her wedding. Report here. Report here

 

Dowry Murder: Killed for A Car!

Kanpur, May 22, 2012

Umesh Verma, and three other members of his family, including mother, were convicted for murdering his wife by and sentenced to life in prison. Umesh and his family were not satisfied with the dowry his wife Vidushi had been given at the time of her marriage and they were demanding a car.  They would torture Vidushi mentally and physically.  On December 8, 2010 Umesh and other family members beat up Vidushi and killed her.  Later they hanged the body from the roof of a room in the house and tried to make it look like a suicide.  Report here

Woman Goes “Missing” After Being Harassed For Dowry

Rourkela, February, 26, 2012

Sachidananda Swain had alleged that his daughter Laxmipriya had gone missing from her in-law’s house in Naya bazar area under plant site police limit of the city on Monday. Swain had filed a complaint that his daughter’s husband Sanjay Jena and her elder brother-in-law Bijay Jena and mother-in-law Premalata were most likely involved in the disappearance of his daughter.  He said that his daughter was being subject to torture for dowry by her in-law’s family.  The police arrested Sanjay, his elder brother Bijay and mother Premalata.  Report here

Nun Killed For Speaking Up Against A Rapist

Jharkhand, November 21, 2011

 

Sister Valsa John in Pakur, Jharkhand, was killed by a gang of men from her own campaign, The Rajmahal Pahar Bachao Andolan (Campaign to Save The Rajmahal Mountains), the banner under which she had led a crusade against a mining company years earlier.  The murder followed after she had taken up the cause of a girl allegedly raped by one of these men.  Read the report here.

 

Mother Drowns Her Two Daughters

Howrah, 07 March 2008

Seema Sai confessed to drowning her two daughters, aged 4 years and 9 months,  in a Belur Math reservoir, apparently driven by “regular taunts” at her in-laws’ house for giving birth to girls.  Two days after the bodies of the two girls were fished out from the pond, the 24-year-old home-maker told police that she was subjected to “mental torture” by her husband and in-laws.  Read the report here 

Pregnant Woman Strangled and Killed For Dowry

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 01 October, 2011

A 25-year-old woman, Neera Verma, who was six months pregnant, was murdered by her husband and in-laws for dowry in the Chakeri district. Neeru’s husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law had asked her to get them a motorcycle, a washing machine and cash from her parents’ house. When Neeru refused, all of them  assaulted her with leather belts,  strangled her to death with a nylon rope and later hanged her body from the ceiling of her room. Read the full report

Pregnant Woman Murdered For Dowry

Pune, October 03, 2011

A 21-year-old married woman, Kalpana Pokharakar, who was four months pregnant, was murdered by her husband and in-laws on Saturday and her corpse thrown into a well to make it look like suicide. Kalpana was married on May 15 this year in a mass marriage ceremony that took place in Ambegaon,  Pune district.  The police said “During the marriage, Rodhe had given 4 tolas of gold. However, some days later, the suspects started harassing Kalpana and demanded an additional Rs2 lakh for purchase of an apartment.” Read report here

A Female Bank Manager Is Victim of Dowry Harassment

Mumbai, 19 April 2011

Komal Cheda, 31, a Bank manager at HDFC,  one of India’s top banks, hanged and killed herself in Mumbai after being mentally and physically abused by her husband and his parents for dowry.  Her father said Komal’s ordeal started immediately after marriage. Her bankrupt husband and parents-in-law kept demanding money from Komal to repay their loan. “They did not allow her to employ a maid….Komal even gave Rs2 lakh to [her husband's] younger brother, for higher studies in the US.”  Read the report here.  

Wife Burnt To Death For Dowry

August 05, 2011, New Delhi

Nafis Khan, in his early twenties, burned to death his 18-year-old wife in October 2009 since she had not paid him the promised dowry of Rs. 20,000.  Equating a dowry-related bride-burning case with terrorism, District Judge Sunita Gupta on Thursday jailed the husband for ten years.  Read the report.