Nearly two months after a young law student died by suicide after alleging dowry harassment, the Kerala police have filed a chargesheet in the case. In November 2021, Mofiya Parveen Dilshad took her own life, after she allegedly faced violence and abuse at the hands of her husband Suhail and his family. The chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch mentions Suhail and his parents as the accused — however, it does not include the Circle Inspector of the Aluva police station, who was expressly named in Mofiya’s suicide note.
When Mofiya had first tried to lodge a complaint at the Aluva station against Suhail for domestic violence, CI Sudheer had called Suhail’s family as well, in a purported attempt to hash out a compromise between the parties. Mofiya’s father Dilshad had earlier told TNM that the CI allegedly “disrespected” Mofiya and acted in a rude manner. Hours later, Mofiya died by suicide.
The chargesheet, filed on January 18, reportedly stated that the charges against the accused (Suhail and his parents) include punishment for dowry harassment, domestic violence and abetment to suicide, the Times of India reported. While the First Information Report (FIR) in the case mentions “serious lapses” on CI Sudheer’s part, his name did not appear in the chargesheet, which has enraged Mofiya’s family.
Her father Dilshad told TNM that the family will go to court against Sudheer’s exclusion. He also alleged that Suhail’s brother-in-law Syed Muhammad and his wife used to harass him for dowry, and that their names must be on the chargesheet too. “The higher-ups in the police department say they are helpless. I had really expected that the CI and Suhail’s brother and sister-in-law would also be included in the chargesheet. I don't know what happened, this is disappointing,” he said.
“Police just wanted to finish the case and include a minimum number of accused so they don't have to do much work,” a dejected Dilshad said.
Days after news of Mofiya’s death emerged and protests broke out, Sudheer was suspended from duty. Later, the Kerala High Court had granted bail to Suhail’s parents, saying that the allegations against them were vague and confined to demand of dowry. However, the court declined to grant relief to Suhail, as the allegations against him were “very serious”.