Dalit woman alleges dowry harassment, gangrape
By IANSWednesday, May 5, 2010
PANCHKULA - Haryana police Wednesday ordered a probe into allegations of dowry harassment and gangrape made by a Dalit woman against her Jat husband and his accomplices, officials said.
According to police, Sheena (name changed) and her family members met Haryana Director General of Police (Administration) Swaranjit Singh at the police headquarters here Tuesday and submitted a written complaint against her husband Sukhwinder Singh and others.
Sheena is a native of Ahar village in Panipat district and Sukhwinder is a resident of Naru-Kheri village in Karnal district. Both of them are in their early twenties and were married in April 2009.
Taking cognizance of the complaint, Swaranjit Singh has marked an inquiry to Inspector General of Police (Rohtak range) V. Kamaraja and directed him to submit the report in a week’s time.
“The complainant belongs to an affluent Dalit family. She said that Sukhwinder had married her to grab her parent’s property and money. She alleged that soon after the marriage, Sukhwinder demanded a car and forced her to bring more dowry,” the Haryana police official spokesperson said.
He added: “When she refused to bring dowry, she was badly beaten up by her husband. To convince her, Sukhwinder also took her to a tantrik. Thereafter, the tantrik and some friends of Sukhwinder gangraped the victim at the behest of her husband.”
In her complaint, the victim demanded an investigation by an independent agency as she expressed apprehension that her husband could influence the local police.
