Bihar woman ‘kidnapped and killed for dowry’ 4 years back, returns

The poor family said it faced many hardships in the process of getting bails and fighting the case, which was still pending in a Sasaram court.

A woman in Bihar’s Rohtas district, who was allegedly kidnapped and killed by her husband and in-laws for dowry four years back, returned home alive on Sunday. Rukhsana Khatoon, in her 30s, returned to her husband’s home in ward no.7 of Kargahar village.

In 2019, Khalid married another woman to look after the three children from his first wife. (Getty Images)

Rukhsana, daughter of one Asharaf Ali of Muradabad village under Sasaram Mufassil police station, was married to Khalid Ansari of Kargahar in the year 2010. The couple had four children from the wedlock.

She disappeared with her five year old son in 2017, leaving behind three children and could not be found by in-laws and her maternal family.

Her father registered a case of dowry, torturing and kidnapping for murder under Sections 498A, 364 and 120B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against 10 accused, including her husband Khalid Ansari, husband’s elder brothers Gaffar Ansari and Sattar Ansari, mother Jubeda Khatoon, sister Shaqila Khatoon and her husband Munna Ansari with the Mufassil police station.

The poor family said it faced many hardships in the process of getting bails and fighting the case, which was still pending in a Sasaram court.

In 2019, Khalid married another woman to look after the three children from his first wife.

The news of Rukhsana’s return spread like wildfire and people gathered at the house of her husband. But the boy was missing and she had no satisfactory explanation. The family refused to let her stay and she had to return to her father’s home after much hullabaloo.

“We have been jailed and suffered a lot due to the woman and could not keep her for another scandal and case. We have faith in the judiciary and justice will be done,” husband’s elder brother Gaffar Ansari said.

Superintendent of police, Ashish Bharti said that police had submitted a charge-sheet in the case for charges of dowry torturing, second marriage in life time of the wife and common intention under sections 498A, 494 and 34 of the IPC. It was not a case of dowry killing. Police never arrested the accused and they got bail from the court, Bharti said.