5 of family charged with dowry death acquitted

The sessions court on Thursday acquitted five persons, accused of murdering a woman, for lack of evidence and the prosecution’s failure to prove the case against them.

The sessions court on Thursday acquitted five persons, accused of murdering a woman, for lack of evidence and the prosecution’s failure to prove the case against them.

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According to the police, the accused – the woman’s husband Zahir Khan (husband), Inamullah Khan (father-in-law), Zaibunissa Khan (mother-in-law), Naseem and Nazma (sisters-in-law) – were demanding dowry of Rs 20 lakh from the deceased Shaheen Khan.

When Shaheen refused, she was allegedly forced to drink pesticide.

The police said six months before the murder, Shaheen was being harassed by her husband and in-laws.

During the trial, the prosecution examined 12 witnesses including Shaheen’s father, brother and uncle whom she had allegedly complained to about the harassment.

Defence lawyer Manohar Kandalkar argued that all the accused were from well-to-do-family and the question of demanding dowry did not arise.

Accepting the arguments of the defence, the court acquitted all the accused giving them benefit of doubt.