Woman kills self, parents suspect dowry death

Udhagamandalam: A 22-year-old woman on Friday allegedly committed suicide at her in-law's house in Onnatti near Solurmattam in Kotagiri taluk in the Nilgiris. Her parents alleged that their daughter was murdered by her husband and in-laws, who used to harass her demanding dowry.
The deceased has been identified as Vijaya, mother of two children. She, along with her husband M Karthik, was earlier staying in Tirupur.The pair came to her in-law's place in Onnatti a few weeks ago.
According to police, on Thursday Vijaya's in-laws had sent her to her mother's house, located a few meters away, demanding Rs3 lakh in dowry, but she returned empty-handed. Her relatives also talked to Karthik to sort out the issue, police said.
However, on Friday morning, Vijaya's parents received a message from Karthick that she had allegedly attempted to commit suicide. They found Vijaya in an unconscious condition and took her to Kotagiri government hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Vijaya's mother Poomani lodged a complaint with the Kotagiri police station alleging that Vijaya was murdered by her husband and in-laws. They also alleged that her husband and in-laws were responsible for her death as they used to harass her over dowry.
When police didn't register an FIR, the residents of Onnatti staged a picketing near the police station. Later, police filed an FIR against Karthik and his parents Munian and Pappathi.
Post-mortem was conducted at the Kotagiri government hospital and the report is expected in another two days.
Geetha Priya, Coonoor RDO, visited the crime spot. "Investigation will be initiated after I get details of the case from police," Geetha said.