Policeman's wife dies, dowry death suspected

A woman, married to a policeman just 10 months ago, has died allegedly due to dowry harassment at Bettahalli near here, on Tuesday night.

Madhushree — wife of constable Puttaraju, a native of Bettahalli serving Banasavadi police station in Bangalore — died on the way to hospital. The victim’s father Prabhakar, a resident of Marahalli in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district, has suspected that the death would be a result of dowry harassment.

Prabhakar said, he had given Rs 3 lakh and 150 gram gold ornaments as dowry, but Puttaraju was demanding an additional Rs 2 lakh and was harassing Madhushree.

“Meditation by village elders did not yield any result and harassment continued. When I went to Bangalore to invite the couple for Ugadi festival, he refused to send even my daughter as his demands were not met,” he said.

 “Puttaraju and Madhushree have arrived at Bettahalli on April 3. The harassment has continued and my daughter has fallen ill. Puttaraju is responsible for the death,” Prabhakar alleged. Saligrama police have registered a case.