BJD MP, 2 others booked in dowry harassment case

BJD Bhartruhari Mahtab’s daughter-in-law Sakshi, 34, filed a complaint against her husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law at Bhopal’s women police station on Wednesday

Updated on: Aug 20, 2021, 04:03:45 IST

By Shruti Tomar, Hindustan Times, Bhopal

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Biju Janata Dal (BJD) parliament member Bhartruhari Mahtab, his wife, and their son have been booked for dowry harassment in Bhopal.

Ajeeta Nayar, a local police officer said Mahtab’s daughter-in-law Sakshi, 34, filed a complaint against her husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law at Bhopal’s women police station on Wednesday.

Mahtab said his son’s divorce proceedings are pending in a Delhi court for two years after a failure in reconciliation efforts. “The husband and wife hardly stayed together for 4-5 days. She has been staying in Bhopal for the last four years. The dowry harassment case looks like an afterthought and nothing like, what has been alleged, happened,” he said.

In her complaint, Sakshi has alleged that her family paid ₹1.5 crore as dowry to her in-laws in 2016 , but they were demanding more money. “She said they used to torture her and later she was thrown out of the house in Cuttack,” said Nayar.

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“Sakshi moved a court and in 2018, it asked Mahtab and his family to allow Sakshi to stay at their house in New Delhi. But when Sakshi went there, she said they did not even open the gate of the house for her. Despite repeated attempts when Mahtab’s family did not accept her, she filed the police complaint,” said Nayar.

Police are investigating the matter and will serve a notice to Mahtab and his family, the officer said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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