A 25-year-old techie killed herself at her house in Hyderabad on Sunday, after she was allegedly harassed by her husband and her in-laws for dowry. The deceased software engineer has been identified as P Rupini, a native of West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh.
The police said that Rupini hung herself from the ceiling fan of her bedroom after bolting the door from inside at her house in Raidurgam. As she did not respond to repeated knocks, the family broke open the door and shifted her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared brought dead by doctors.
It was in March this year, that Rupini had got married to a gym trainer, Sandeep, and the couple had shifted to Hyderabad in April. The police said that it was a love marriage.
“We were reluctant initially, but my daughter was firm on her decision and convinced us to consent to their marriage. She said he loved her very much but now he along with his parents have taken my daughter’s life,” the deceased's father, Murali Krishna, was quoted as saying.
In a complaint to the Raidurgam police, Murali Krishna alleged that Rupini's in-laws had been mentally harassing her and demanding dowry since August.
“Keeping in mind that they could not get dowry due to their son’s love marriage, Lalitha and Satyanarayana harassed Rupini. As I have two daughters, they demanded Rupini get her share of the property as dowry,” said Murali, Rupini’s father. I along with my relatives visited my daughter’s house and tried to convince her in-laws and husband, but they demanded dowry,” the police complaint stated.
Police have since taken Sandeep into custody for questioning and a case has been registered under Section 304B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
After a post-morterm examination at Osmania General Hospital (OGH), Rupini's body was handed over to her family.