Assam: Woman Hangs Herself in Dowry-Related Issue in Barpeta

BARPETA: A woman in Assam's Barpeta district hanged herself due to an alleged dowry-related issue on Tuesday.

The deceased identified as Nilima Khatun was found hanging from the ceiling in her husband's residence in Kachumara in Chenga Tehsil under the Barpeta district.

A grief-stricken brother of Nilima said in a statement, "Nine months ago my sister Nilima got married to Mridul Haque after which he along with his family used to physically abuse her. Last Saturday we went to her in-laws and tried to reconcile between the two to no avail and today morning we got the news of her suicide."

The deceased's brother also alleged that Nilima's mother-in-law used to torture her a lot. They used to demand jewellery, cars and money as dowry which Nilima's family was unable to provide. Nilima's mother tried to bring her back to their house but Nilima was threatened by her in-laws that if she goes back to her house they would cut all ties with her. 

Nilima's brother also accused Mridul's family of murder and said, "This is not a suicide but a planned murder. When they called us to inform about the incident and when we reached the spot they already bought the body down and removed the rope from her neck. They might have strangled her with a rope and hanged her to make it look like suicide."

Meanwhile, A team from Kachumara Police Station first took the body to the police station for some formalities and then sent it to Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College Hospital for post-mortem and other post-death formalities. 

Nilima's family and the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AMSU) demanded the police to take strong action against Mridul Haque's family for the inhuman torture perpetuated on Nilima and eventually killing her. 

According to sources, the police have picked up Mridul Haque and his family and is interrogating them. 

According to a data, Assam recorded 198 cases of dowry deaths in 2021.

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