Woman starved to death over dowry

In a suspected case of dowry death , a 29-year old woman was starved to death allegedly after her husband and mother-in-law denied food to her at Kollam in south Kerala.

Mother of two kids, Tushara, 29, of Karunagapally in Kollam, was brought dead to a government hospital in Kollam on March 21. On post-mortem examination, starvation was found to be the reason for the death.

A subsequent police investigation revealed that Tushara’s husband Chandu Lal, 30, and his mother Geetha Lal, 55, had been torturing Tushara over the last several years demanding dowry from her parents. The torture became more severe over the last couple of years. She was locked up in the house and was even denied proper food. It was also suspected that Tushara was forced to drink sugar mixed water and wet rice, police sources said.

Tushara’s relatives told police that they were not allowed to meet Tushara over the last few months. She was also not allowed to go to her house. They also suspect that Chandu Lal and his mother used to perform black magic.

The Pooyapally police in rural parts of Kollam arrested Chandu and Geetha on Friday. Chandu and Tushara got married in 2013. They have two children aged four and two, local sources said.