Kerala women’s panel slams police for inaction in case
The Kerala Women's Commission on Wednesday slammed the police for its stand with regard to a newlywed woman's complaint accusing her husband of brutally assaulting and attempting to kill her over dowry barely a week after their marriage.
Kerala Women's Commission (KWC) chairperson P Satheedevi said police officers who think that husbands have a right to do bodily harm to their wives "are an insult to the force" and emphasised the need for gender sensitisation training of Kerala police personnel.
She told reporters in the state capital that the KWC received a complaint on behalf of the victim on Tuesday and immediately the SHO of the Pantheerankavu police station, within whose jurisdiction the groom's family resides, was called to find out the details.
"The complaint we got contained serious allegations of severe cruelty against the woman at her matrimonial home and that she was hospitalised in connection with that. However, when she went to the police station, her claims were not taken seriously.
"Instead, what I came to understand is that the police advocated that the woman settle the matter and continue to live with her husband despite facing such cruelty," Satheedevi said.
Slamming the stand taken by the police in the matter, the KWC chairperson said she came to know through news reports that the investigating officer and his team have been replaced with other officers and termed it a welcome move.
Earlier in the day, the inlaws of the bride denied the allegation that they had demanded dowry.
The groom's mother claimed her daughter-in-law was refusing to stay in the matrimonial home and that led to an argument and subsequent fight between the couple.
"We never demanded dowry as we do not require it," the woman told TV channels.
Meanwhile, the bride's father said that he does not expect the police in Pantheerankavu to carry out a proper probe. "They (the police) did not take the matter seriously," he claimed.
Police officers who think husbands have a right to do bodily harm to their wives are an insult to the force," Satheedevi said