Woman dies, kin claims dowry torture

A woman was allegedly beaten to death at Balugaon in Khurda district. The deceased has been identified as Swagatika Panda of Krushnaprasad.

According to allegations raised by the deceased’s family, Swagatika had married Arun Hota of Singeswar village. Arun was not happy with his marriage to Swagatika. He kept on insisting Swagatika bring more dowry from her home. As Swagatika declined, Arun used to torture her like anything. 

Police, meanwhile, detained Swagatika’s husband and father-in-law in this connection.

Swagatika’s brother said, “Her ears had become swollen. Also, his head contained cut marks. This proved that she was murdered. She was always tortured mentally and physically. She was always bullied and asked to bring dowry from her father.”

Sub-divisional Police Officer Manas Ranjan Mallick, said, “A dowry complaint has been filed against Swagatika’s father-in-law and husband. We had taken case seriously. A scientific team has already visited the spot. Primary investigation says it is a case of a dowry torture.”

According to the latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against women rose by 23 per cent in Odisha last year, with the state recording the highest number of assault and cyber crime cases against them.

When it comes to dowry, Odisha registered 293 dowry deaths last year while 465 cases were lodged under the Dowry Prohibition Act. Twenty-seven cases were lodged under abetment to suicide, while there were three victims of acid attack.