Bengal housewife killed in dowry dispute

A housewife was allegedly killed by her husband and in-laws eight months after her marriage in a dispute over dowry in West Bengal's Howrah district, police said on Saturday.

The woman, married to Howrah's Uluberia resident Pratik Gora, was declared brought dead at a local hospital on Friday night, her family members said.

"A married woman from Uluberia was declared brought dead at Uluberia district hospital on Friday night. She had strangulation marks on her throat. The body has been sent for autopsy," an officer from Uluberia police station said.

"Family members of the deceased lodged a police complaint on Saturday claiming their daughter has been murdered as they failed to provide the money to her in-laws. The husband and sister-in-law of the deceased are on the run. We are interrogating the other family members," he said.

The deceased's family members said they came to know about their daughter's death from her neighbours in Ulubeira's Madhabpur on Friday night.

"Neither her husband nor other family members informed us about anything. After we reached the hospital, they claimed our daughter has committed suicide. We do not believe that. We think they killed her as we failed to offer the demanded money," said Brindaban Chakraborty, the woman's father.

--IANS

mgr/prs