A court in Kerala, India, has sentenced a man to 10 years in jail for harassing and abusing his wife over dowry, which ultimately resulted in the woman's suicide.

In addition, the Kollam additional sessions court on Tuesday, also ordered S. Kiran Kumar, 31, to pay Rs 12.55 lakhs (RM70,000) fine, including giving Rs 2 lakhs (RM11,000) to the victim's parents.

The victim, Vismaya Nair, was found hanging from the ventilator grill of a bathroom in her marital home in Kollam on June 21 last year. She was just 22.

Following her death, Kiran was arrested for dowry harassment, domestic and violence, and abetment to suicide, among other charges, in addition to being sacked from his job as a motor vehicles assistant inspector.

According to reports, Kiran had regularly abused Vismaya, who was pursuing her Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicines, physically, verbally and mentally, as he was unhappy with the dowry he had received from her family, which included 1.20 acres of land, 100 sovereigns of gold, and a brand new car, during their wedding a year prior. He had wanted a better car and more cash, reports have stated.

Prior to her death, Vismaya had sent voice recordings to her father, crying about the beating she suffered at Kiran's hands, and pleaded to come home, but the man consoled her and assured that everything will be alright. She later sent messages and photos to her cousin, detailing the abuse she suffered at her husband's hands.

When all her cries for help went unheeded, Vismaya took the drastic step of taking her own life.

The prosecution had initially asked for life imprisonment to be imposed, but the court opted for the 10-year sentence, taking into account the accused's age, and the fact that he was the sole caretaker of his aged parents.

According to statistics, an average of 20 women die every day as a result of harassment over dowry - either murdered, or compelled to commit suicide.


Source: The News Minute, shethepeople.tv
Photo source: The News Minute