A woman was allegedly humiliated and tonsured in public by her in-laws at Paruabhadi village under the Kuchinda police station in Sambalpur district over dowry demand.
On the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim with Kuchinda police on Tuesday, victim’s mother-in-law Dukhi Chhatria and two sisters-in-law Jayakanti Majhi and Saraswati Pradhan were arrested. As per the FIR, a heated argument ensued between the victim and her two sisters-in-law on February 5. But losing their cool, Dukhi and her two daughters thrashed the victim. The entire incident took place in the absence of the victim’s husband.
On February 7, a meeting was held in the village, where the victim was held ‘guilty’ for assaulting her sister-in-law, who is elder to her. The victim was fined Rs 6,000 and an order was passed that her head be tonsured.The community members also warned of ostracising the family if the incident was reported to police. However, police said the community members involved in harassing the woman would be nabbed soon.
The accused have been booked under sections 455, 452, 355, 254 (b), 294, 506, 498(a), 34 of IPC and section 4 of Dowry Prevention Act.