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New Indian Express
29-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Kerala: Husband, mother-in-law sentenced to life for starving woman to death over dowry
KOLLAM: A court in Kollam on Monday sentenced the husband and mother-in-law of a 28-year-old woman to life imprisonment for starving her to death over dowry in 2019. Kollam Additional Sessions Court judge S Subhash also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the convicts, Chandulal, 36, and Geetha Lali, 62, who were found guilty for murdering Thushara, a native of Karunagapally. Chandulal's father Lal, 67, the third accused, was found dead on the banks of the Ithikkara river six months ago. The court observed that this is an unprecedented case in the country. The prosecution argued that the murder was carried out according to a plan. At the time of her death, Thushara weighed only 21 kg. The postmortem report revealed that there were no traces of food in her stomach. Thushara died on March 21, 2019, in Oyoor. After being informed about her death, Thushara's father and family members rushed to the Kollam District Hospital around 1am and found her body in a deteriorated state. The postmortem, which was conducted based on a complaint lodged with the Pooyappally police, revealed the shocking details of the 'murder'. Chandulal married Thushara in 2013. According to the prosecution, after the engagement, the accused forced Thushara to sign an agreement stating she would pay the shortfall of Rs 2 lakh in dowry within three years. However, just three months into the marriage, the accused began subjecting Thushara to physical and mental torture, demanding the dowry. Verdict satisfactory, says prosecution Thushara was then isolated from her family, the prosecution said. 'Thushara has two daughters, but even they were not allowed to meet their mother. The accused even prevented Thushara from interacting with her children. The police found that the accused denied Thushara the right to mother her own children. The statements of neighbours and the teacher of Thushara's three-and-a-half-year-old child were crucial in the case. When the child's teacher enquired about the absence of the mother, the accused falsely claimed she was bedridden. They also misled others by saying Geetha, the second accused, was the mother,' said special prosecutor K B Mahendra. The court on Saturday found the accused guilty under sections 302 (murder), 304b (dowry death), 344 (wrongful confinement), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC, convicting them of murder with common intent, causing death by negligence and wrongful detention. Mahendra said this was the first such case in the country. 'During the legal fight, I couldn't find any similar incident. We typically rely on precedents and court judgments, but this case was unique. In 1961, there was an attempted starvation death over dowry, but the woman survived,' he said. 'We are satisfied with the verdict though we had hoped for the maximum punishment. This was a challenging case as all the events took place inside the house, and we had to rely on circumstantial evidence,' he added. Chandulal argued for a lesser sentence citing his elderly mother, while the prosecution pushed for the maximum punishment.
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Time of India
Reduced to 'bag of bones': Husband, in-laws sentenced after starving Kerala Woman to death in 2019 dowry abuse case
Chandhulal, Geethalal & Thushara NEW DELHI: A Kerala court on Monday sentenced a man and his mother for starving his wife to death over dowry demands . The 28-year-old victim, identified as Thushara, was reduced to a "bag of bones" and died due to starvation. The case, which dates back to 2019, caused significant public outrage in Kerala. The victim was also a mother of two. At the time of her death, Thushara weighed only 20 to 21 kilograms. Thushara suffered horrifying abuse at their home in Karunagappally. Denied proper food, she was forced to survive on soaked rice and sugar syrup before she collapsed and died at a government hospital on 21 March 2019. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like My Stepdad Demands I Pay Him Rent On My 18th Birthday. He Doesn't Know I Own The House So I Did This Beach Raider Undo S Subash, judge of the Additional District and Sessions Court-IV, found husband Chandulal (36) and his mother Geetha (62) guilty and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. Special prosecutor Mahendra K B said the court accepted the prosecution's arguments and convicted the two under Sections 304(B) and 302 of the Indian Penal Code. "This is a case which has no precedence in our country," said Advocate Mahendra, speaking to reporters after the verdict. While dowry-related killings have tragically been seen before, he explained this was likely the first instance where a woman was forced to die through starvation. Thushara's torture came to light during a police investigation following her death, leading to the swift arrest of both Chandulal and Geetha. Chanthulal and Geethalal were allegedly practising witchcraft and black magic, and had erected a tin barrier around the compound of the house to keep away from the outside world, said a police officer. Thushara married Chandulal in 2013. Just three months after their marriage, he demanded an additional Rs 2 lakh as dowry. When her family couldn't afford it, Thushara was kept locked in the house, forbidden from meeting her relatives or neighbours. She wasn't even allowed to contact her family by phone. Even after having her second child, her relatives were not allowed to see her. It was only when the Kollam East Police got involved that Thushara's family was allowed to visit her and meet the baby. Rural SP K G Simon, who supervised the investigation said that no one in the neighbourhood had any clue about the severity of the torture
