Woman found dead at in-laws’ house; family alleges dowry harassment

A 30-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her in-laws’ house in Mukundnagar on Monday morning, with her family alleging that she was subjected to physical and mental harassment over demands for gold and money

A 30-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her in-laws’ house in Mukundnagar on Monday morning, with her family alleging that she was subjected to physical and mental harassment over demands for gold and money.

This year, citing financial difficulties, her parents had sought time until next year to meet the demand. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The woman’s brother, in his complaint to Swargate police, alleged that her husband, Akshay Arvind Zambre, mother-in-law Mangal Zambre, father-in-law Arvind Zambre and sister-in-law Akshata Zambre had been harassing her, allegedly driving her to die by suicide.

According to the FIR, the woman’s in-laws demanded five tolas of gold from her family every Diwali. This year, citing financial difficulties, her parents had sought time until next year to meet the demand. However, the pressure and alleged harassment continued.

The woman married Akshay in 2019, and the couple have a four-year-old daughter. Her family had given 50 tolas of gold and ₹25 lakh in cash at the time of the marriage and borne the wedding expenses, the FIR stated. Despite this, the demands allegedly continued.

Yashwant Nikam, senior inspector, Swargate Police Station, said, “A message sent to the brother of the victim was recovered stating that my mother-in-law is responsible. We have filed an FIR against the in-laws and formed teams to arrest the accused.”

Her father-in-law was hospitalised following the incident. Police have sent the body to Sassoon General Hospital for autopsy. A forensic team inspected the flat, while investigators are examining CCTV footage from the residential society to establish the sequence of events.

A case has been registered against the four family members under Sections 108, 85, 3(5), 351 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Police said Akshay was detained late Monday night and the process of his formal arrest had been initiated.