‘Bride killed by husband over dowry demand’

BALURGHAT: Within a year of her marriage, a young woman was allegedly killed by her husband for failing to meet additional dowry demands at Sursur village under Harirampur Police Station in South Dinajpur. The deceased has been identified as Laxmi Murmu, daughter of Baloke Hasda, a resident of Pal Bhabanipur under the Syedpur Gram Panchayat.

Following her daughter’s unnatural death, Baloke lodged a written complaint at Harirampur Police Station, accusing her son-in-law Shubhankar Baskey, along with two of his relatives, Sanatan Baskey and Menoka Baskey, of murder. Acting on the complaint, police arrested Shubhankar from Sursur village on Wednesday, while the other two accused are absconding. Harirampur Police Station IC Abhishek Talukdar said the arrested accused was produced before the Gangarampur Sub-Divisional Court at Buniadpur.

According to the complaint, Laxmi was married to Shubhankar about a year ago in a social ceremony. Soon after the marriage, her husband allegedly started pressuring her to bring money from her parental home.

As her parents were in financial distress, Laxmi refused. Unable to bear the growing harassment from her husband and in-laws, she confided in her mother, who advised her to stay calm and adjust.

However, the torture allegedly intensified during the past week. On Monday morning, Baloke received news that her daughter had died.

Upon reaching her in-laws’ house, she found Laxmi hanging from the ceiling. Believing that her daughter was either murdered or driven to suicide, Baloke filed a police complaint demanding strict punishment for all the accused.