Wife beaten to death in Kumarganj, police book husband, in-laws

BALURGHAT: Tension was sparked in Kumarganj's Mohona area after the news spread that a 22-year-old homemaker was rampantly beaten to death, allegedly by her husband and in-laws, on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Aparna Mazumdar.

An angry mob of local residents ransacked a portion of Aparna's in-laws' residence and demanded strict legal action against the accused. Police rushed to the spot after being intimated by the locals and detained the accused husband Pankaj Mazumdar, father-in-law Yudhistir, mother-in-law Bibha and brother-in-law Prahlad from the spot and recovered the body of the victim. Her body was later sent for autopsy to Balurghat.

RAF and combat forces have been deployed in the area to avoid any untoward situation. Police have also detained a few locals for their alleged involvement in ransacking the house.

Officer-in-charge of Kumarganj police station Sudipta Das, along with the Additional Police Superintendent inspected the spot and requested the agitated mob to restore peace. Locals alleged that the cause of the victim's death was rampant thrashing by the accused.

Police said the couple had got married around four years ago. Aparna's parents Harish and Shova Adhikary hail from Raiganj's Karnojora area. Pankaj works as a computer operator. Locals said domestic quarrels over dowry had been a regular occurrence immediately after the couple got married.

"There was no peace in the family. Pankaj, his parents and his brother used to beat up Aparna even over trifles. On Monday night, the couple was involved in violent quarrelling. Following the quarrelling, they started beating her and the torture continued throughout the night. On Tuesday morning, she lost consciousness and was rushed to a local health centre, where the doctor declared her brought dead," said a police officer. Police have also intimated the deceased's parents in Raiganj regarding the incident. Hearing about the same, they reached Mohona and demanded strict legal action against the accused.

"My son-in-law has committed the crime along with his parents and brother. The incident occurred due to dowry. They tortured my daughter ever since they got married. I tried my best to fulfill their demands and requested them to behave well with my daughter but it was all in vain," said the victim's father.

Police said this was Pankaj's second marriage. His first wife had left the family, unable to bear the torture regarding dowry.

District police chief Nagendranath Tripathi said: "Police have recovered the body and sent it for autopsy to Balurghat Hospital. A probe has also been initiated."