A 19-year-old newlywed woman was found hanging under suspicious circumstances at her in-laws' residence in Bagadpur Choiya, under Adampur police station limits in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district, on Tuesday night. The incident occurred hours after she allegedly called her father, pleading with him to take her home and expressing fear that she would be killed.
Allegations of Dowry Harassment
Pushpendri Devi's family has alleged dowry death, accusing her husband and in-laws of murdering her after subjecting her to harassment over a demand for Rs 10 lakh. Pushpendri married Ompal, a farmer from Khumawali in Gajraula area, on February 13 this year. Her father, Balbeer Singh, stated that the family had provided dowry according to their capacity at the time of marriage, but the in-laws were reportedly dissatisfied and continued to demand more money.
Police Investigation Underway
Circle officer Pankaj Kumar Tyagi confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Pushpendri's husband Ompal, father-in-law Rajendra, mother-in-law Indrawati, and two others under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 80 (dowry death) and Section 85 (husband or relative of husband subjecting a woman to cruelty), as well as sections 3 and 7 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
“The body has been sent for post-mortem, and ligature marks were visible around her neck. The exact cause of death can only be determined after the autopsy report. Meanwhile, teams have been formed to apprehend the accused, who are currently at large,” Tyagi said.
Father's Heartbreaking Account
Balbeer Singh recounted that Pushpendri called him around 6:30 pm on Tuesday in distress. “She was crying helplessly on the phone, begging me to take her home. My daughter kept saying, ‘Papa, they will kill me.’ I tried to console her and told her I would come, but before I could even reach her, I was informed she was dead. I never imagined our last conversation would end like this,” he said.
Family Claims Murder Staged as Suicide
The victim's family alleged that Pushpendri's in-laws assaulted her, killed her, and then hanged her body to make it appear as a suicide. They claimed she had been continuously harassed since her marriage over the additional dowry demand of approximately Rs 10 lakh.
The police are awaiting the post-mortem report to determine the exact cause of death, while efforts to arrest the accused continue.
