The husband of a 32-year-old woman, who succumbed to severe burn injuries on Thursday and whose two minor children died in the fire at Ranhola in west Delhi on Thursday morning, has been arrested by the police for allegedly harassing her for dowry. The accused was arrested following complaints made by his father-in-law to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM). The victim woman had allegedly set herself afire which led to her death as well as of her two children.
Deputy commissioner of police (west), Sharad Agarwal, said that the accused, Mukesh, has been arrested on charges of harassment for dowry.
Gaya Prasad Gupta, father of the victim Veena, had told SDM that she was married to Mukesh, a businessman, six years ago. Soon after the marriage, the accused began demanding more dowry. This often led to quarrels between her and Mukesh, who also used to beat her up. It was also alleged that Mukesh was under debt and had even mortgaged Veena’s jewellery. The couple had two children, Khushi, 5, and Akash, 4.
The police said that even the neighbours have corroborated the fact that the couple often fought over the issue of dowry. A couple of days ago, Veena informed her sister Kusum that Mukesh was threatening her with life.
Veena gave statement to the police that she had set herself and her children afire as she was tired of life due to harassment by Mukesh.