Noida: Chairman of Bilaspur Nagar Panchayat, kin booked for demanding dowry

It has been alleged that the groom’s family demanded a Scorpio car as dowry

Police booked six persons, including the newly elected chairman of Bilaspur Nagar Panchayat, Sabir Qureshi, on Saturday under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, for calling off a wedding following the failure of the bride’s family to meet their alleged dowry demand.

The wedding was called off after an alleged altercation between the families of the bride and the groom over the dowry demand. (Representative photo)

It has been alleged that the groom’s family demanded a Scorpio car as dowry. The incident was reported from Bilaspur in Greater Noida.

According to the bride’s brother Naseemullah Haq, a resident of Sambhal district, the wedding between Mohammad Shahid (30), a resident of Bilaspur and Farha Naz (23), a resident of Sambhal, was fixed for the evening of February 27.

Shahid is the younger brother of Qureshi. However, the wedding was called off after an alleged altercation between the families of the bride and the groom over the dowry demand.

“Earlier, it was decided among us that a Swift Dzire car worth Rs6 lakh will be gifted to the groom on the day of the wedding. However, we received a message from the groom’s family at 4pm on February 27, that the barat (marriage procession of the groom) will not move from Bilaspur unless we get them a Scorpio car. They said that the status of their family has increased now that Qureshi has become the chairman of Bilaspur (nagar panchayat) and that they want a Scorpio car. They cancelled the wedding after they came to know that we are not gifting them a Scorpio,” Haq alleged in his complaint.

He said, “My sister is a graduate whereas Shahid is jobless and uneducated. It was only because their family had insisted that we had agreed to get our daughter married to Shahid. The marriage was in talks for the past two years and we had also gifted Shahid a Royal Enfield motorcycle, which cost us Rs1.5 lakh, six months ago.”

The police have taken cognizance of the case and booked Mohammad Shahid, Sabir Qureshi, Mohammad Aabid (Qureshi’s brother), Najeema (Qureshi’s wife), Mohammad Ayub (Qureshi’s brother) and Shahabuddin (Qureshi’s brother-in-law) under the Dowry Prohibition Act.

“Based on the complaint filed, we have lodged a case under sections 323, 504, 506 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code and Section ¾ of the Dowry Prohibition Act for voluntarily causing hurt, intentional hurt, criminal intimidation, breach of trust and demanding dowry, respectively. No arrest has been made yet as the investigation is going on,” Farmood Ali Pundir, station house officer, Dankaur police station, said.

Qureshi, however, had a different reason for the cancellation of the wedding.

“We had not demanded any dowry from the girl’s side and they have not given us anything. The groom Shahid wanted the barat procession to begin by 4pm and reach Sambhal by 7pm but Naseemullah Haq did not agree to this. A confrontation ensued between the two on phone and the wedding was cancelled in the heat of the moment,” Qureshi said.