Kendrapada: The husband and in-laws of a 21-year-old newly married woman were arrested in Jagatsinghpur district on Thursday for allegedly burning her to death over a dowry dispute. The victim, Subhalaxmi Das, 21, of Sidhala village, was married on February 25 this year to Prakash Samal, 26, a resident of Narasinghpur village under Balikuda police station.
Incident Details
The accused trio—Prakash Samal, the husband, and his parents Arun Samal, 52, and Minati Samal, 45—allegedly poured kerosene on the woman on Wednesday evening and set her ablaze, leading to her death. The police officer in charge (IIC) of Balikuda police station, Kabuli Barik, stated that after her demise, the accused attempted to cremate the body at the village cremation ground. However, acting on a tip-off, police rushed to the site and seized the half-burnt body.
Investigation and Arrests
Based on a complaint lodged by the victim's father, Daitary Das, the police launched an investigation and arrested the three. Das claimed in his complaint that his daughter Subhalaxmi Das was allegedly being harassed by her husband and his parents over additional dowry demands. After Subhalaxmi's family failed to pay the dowry, she was burnt to death by her husband and in-laws. The body was sent to the district headquarters hospital at Jagatsinghpur for post-mortem. The IIC added that further investigation into the case is underway.
Legal Action
The accused were booked under sections 103 (murder), 238 (destruction of evidence), and 85 (cruelty inflicted on a woman by her husband or his relatives) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 4 of the Dowry Prevention Act. They were produced in the local court on Thursday, which rejected their bail applications and remanded them in jail custody.
