Ch'garh woman chooses gutka over husband

‘Gutkha’ has caused ‘cancer’ in the relationship of a couple in Haryana after the wife refused to give up chewing the banned substance.

The former love birds are now seeking divorce after several rounds of fights over the issue.

Police said the wife told them that she would prefer the ‘Gutkha’ even if it meant leaving her husband.

The Bhiwani police, probing the case, are flummoxed given the intricacies of the case that surfaced on Saturday when the couple were asked to report at the station for a mutual settlement. While Bhiwani resident  Sunita (name concealed) charged her husband and her in-laws of harassing her for dowry, even beating her many times, a starling fact came to light when the couple were made to talk about their contentious issues for an amicable settlement, the police said. The husband, who earns about  Rs 6,000 every month, claims the “conflict is over my  wife’s addiction to ‘Gutkha’”.

He said Sunita consumed several packets of ‘Gutkha’ everyday without realising that her addition was digging a hole in his pocket. The crime against women cell of the local police said Sunita admitted to her “uncontrolled” habit of consuming ‘Gutkha’ but accused her husband of beating her and harassing her for dowry.

The husband said he slapped Sunita twice, but he did it after she refused to stop chewing ‘Gutkha’, the police said.

Unable to resolve the issue, the couple have filed a divorce petition.