Thiruvananthapuram, 24 July(HS): Kerala has become an unsafe and insecure place for married women if the number of brides committing suicides are any indication. Thursday morning saw Negha, a 25-year-old bride, allegedly committed suicide at her in-laws’ house, reportedly due to physical and mental torture by her husband and his mother.

“The in-laws and husband wanted more money despite the lakhs of rupees we gave them as dowry. Though the amount they were asking was beyond our capacity, we were parting with whatever we could afford to,” Negha’s mother told reporters.

Negha’s death comes within days of Kannur based Reema (23) and her two and half year old son committing suicide by jumping into a river. The dead bodies of mother and child were recovered two days later. The suicide note left behind by Reema says she was physically and mentally tortured by her husband and his mother, demanding an extra amount of money as dowry. She further stated in the note that she was thrown out of the husband’s house and was asked to return only with the amount they had requested.

In the case of Negha, her mother alleged that the death of her daughter was not a suicide but a clear case of murder, as there were strangulation marks on her neck.

Last week saw two more suicides, both by UAE based brides. Vipanchika (25) and her three-year-old son were found dead in her husband’s apartment while Atulya Sekhar, a Sharjah resident woman, too resorted to the extreme step. What is connecting all these deaths is the link the husbands have with the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala. The number of such “deaths” is showing unprecedented increase while the CPI(M) is in power.

Vismaya Nair, an Ayurvedic physician, who was found dead under mysterious conditions in her in-laws’ house in June 2021, was allegedly under pressure from her husband and his parents to bring in more money from her parents to which she had opposed.

A court in Kollam had convicted Kiran Kumar, in 2022 and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (dowry death, applies when a woman dies under unnatural circumstances within seven years of marriage and was subjected to cruelty or harassment over dowry), Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide), Section 498A IPC (cruelty by husband or his relatives in connection with dowry), Section 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act (penalty for giving or taking dowry), and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act (penalty for demanding dowry).

Kiran Kumar was arrested after Vismaya’s parents filed a complaint alleging that he had repeatedly tortured and harassed her over dowry. But the Supreme Court gave him bail and froze the punishment, making it easy for the convict to come out of jail. According to latest information, Kiran and his mother are on the look out for a suitable girl so that he can marry her and get a fortune as dowry.

The bail given to Kiran is a shock to the people of Kerala. But what has jolted the State is the bail granted to Sooraj for murdering his wife Uthara with the aide of a cobra. The charge was that Sooraj released a King Cobra into the bed while Uthara was sleeping, and the snake bit her, resulting in her death. The Court was provided with all documents substantiating the proofs, and Sooraj was sentenced to double life sentence by the trial court. But he is out on parole now for his second marriage.

The CPI(M) in its bid to save party cadres and supporters from possible dowry death cases, is revamping the laws banning dowry. The Law Department has been asked to amend the anti-dowry laws, and it would make accepting dowry legal though the proviso demanding dowry a cognizable crime would stay.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti