Harassment over dowry drives married woman to suicide

A 29-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide in the presence of her five-year-old son in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden area, following purported dowry harassment by her husband.

An inquest has been initiated in this connection by a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM). The husband of the deceased has been detained by the police after it registered a case of dowry harassment on the complaint of the woman’s family.

The woman has been identified as Harpreet Kaur. She lived with her husband Parminder Singh, who is a software engineer and a five-year-old son in Subhash Nagar locality of Rajouri Garden. The incident took place on Sunday afternoon when Harpreet’s neighbours discovered her body hanging from a ceiling fan even as her five-year-old son was present in the same room.

“We got a PCR call, following which a police team rushed to the spot. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Her family members were then informed,” said a senior police official.

Harpreet’s father Kulwant Singh told the SDM that his daughter was being harassed for dowry by her husband.

“The couple’s marriage was going through a rough patch. They had frequent fights over the last couple of months and the matter was even reported to the local police station,” he added.