Suspected dowry death; three of husband’s family arrested

A 25-year-old married woman was allegedly murdered by her in-laws over dowry demands at Budha Theh village under the jurisdiction of the Beas police station here. The deceased, identified as Ramandeep Kaur, was found dead behind her matrimonial home under suspicious circumstances on Saturday.

According to her family, Ramandeep was brutally assaulted and her body was allegedly staged to appear as a case of suicide. The police reached the spot, took the body into custody and initiated an investigation.

Sardool Singh, SHO, Beas police station, said that following the registration of an FIR, the police arrested three members of her in-laws’ family. The accused have been identified as her father-in-law Joginder Singh, mother-in-law Kashmir Kaur and Rupinder Kaur, all residents of the same village. Her husband Jagjit Singh and another accused, Harpreet Kaur of Kapurthala, are yet to be arrested. Further investigation is underway, he added.

The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim’s sister, Navdeep Kaur, a resident of Jhal Thikri village in Kapurthala.

In her complaint, Navdeep alleged that Ramandeep was married to Jagjit Singh around three years ago and that dowry was given according to the family’s capacity. However, soon after the marriage, she was allegedly subjected to harassment and physical abuse by her in-laws. She was reportedly beaten and turned out of the house several times, only to be persuaded by her parental family to return.

Ramandeep had given birth to a baby boy five months ago, and the family had hoped the situation would improve. However, tensions allegedly escalated after Jagjit Singh went missing from home about three months ago. A month later, he reportedly informed the family that he had moved to Malaysia and would remain there. Following this, the harassment allegedly intensified.

Navdeep said neighbours informed the family about Ramandeep’s death on Saturday. When they reached the house, her body was found lying behind the residence. During the police examination, injuries were reportedly observed on multiple parts of her body, including a broken leg. The family has accused the in-laws of murdering Ramandeep and attempting to portray the death as a suicide.