Woman killed over dowry in Sheikhpura; husband among four arrested

Patna: A four-month-old marriage ended in tragedy on Sunday when a 24-year-old woman was allegedly killed at her in-laws’ house over a demand for a car in dowry in Sheikhpura district. Police arrested her husband, mother-in-law, and two others after the victim’s family lodged a murder complaint at the local police station.

According to police, the deceased was identified as Jahanara Begum alias Heena, daughter of Mohammad Matlub, a resident of Lalpur village in the Matihani police station area of Begusarai district. She was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her in-laws’ house in Mahallapar locality under the Mission police station area on Sunday morning. She had married Altaf Alam just four months ago.

Police said woman’s family claimed that her in-laws were harassing her for a four-wheeler, and when their demands weren’t met, they allegedly killed her. Heena’s husband, Altaf Alam, and her mother-in-law, Yasmin Khatoon have been arrested. However, Heena’s husband denied his involvement in the alleged murder.

The woman’s brother, Mohammad Khurshid alias Daulat, said, “My sister was married on August 18 to Mohammad Altab Alam, son of Mohammad Akeel Ahmad, a resident of Barbigha. Altab is a fish trader. Since the marriage, her in-laws had been harassing Heena over demands for a four-wheeler. A few days ago, Heena also informed us about the torture over the phone.”

Upon receiving information about the death, Mission SHO Aditya Ranjan reached the spot with a police team and an FSL team that collected samples from the spot.

Ranjan said, “The deceased’s brother Daulat has filed an FIR for dowry death at the local police station. Four people, including the husband, have been named as accused in the case. They have been sent to jail. The exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem report. However, prima facie, it appears that she was strangled. Further investigation is underway.”