Ludhiana: Woman burnt to death, father alleges harassment over dowry

In a terrifying incident reported from Punjab’s Ludhiana, a 34-year-old woman was burnt to death allegedly over dowry demand on Tuesday. The victim has been identified as Mandeep Kaur.

The victim’s father, Surinderpal Singh, a native of Samrala, which is about 30 km away from her in-law’s residence in Kakowal Majra area.

The father of the victim stated that his daughter’s father-in-law had called to say that Mandeep had received some burn injuries and was taken to a civil hospital, the Hindustan Times reported.

"I wasted no time and rushed to the hospital. But my daughter had been referred to the Rajindra Hospital in Patiala by then. She died on the way. When I finally got to see her body, I was shocked to find that she had suffered wounds on her head and jaw, and there were burn injuries all over her body," Surinderpal was quoted as saying.

Later, the victim’s father revealed that his daughter was tormented by her in-laws over dowry demand and that the beating up of his daughter had begun soon after her wedding.

According to Surinderpal (victim’s father), Mandeep had tied the knot with Balram Singh around three years ago and that the couple has a one-year-old baby girl.

"Balram, as well as her family members, used to frequently assault my daughter," alleged Surinderpal.

Furthermore, Surinderpal claimed that Mandeep’s husband had earlier told him that he would murder Mandeep if Surinderpal did not take her away.

"My son-in-law told me that he would kill my daughter if I didn't take her home... Had I brought her back home on time, she would have been alive today," Surinderpal said.

"We had raised the matter with the village panchayat. Some responsible people in the village helped us settle the issue but my daughter continued to suffer abuse at her in-laws' house...Had I brought her back home on time, she would have been alive today," Surinderpal added.

In the meantime, Victim’s husband, Balram, father-in-law Chand Singh, mother-in-law Rajwant Kaur, sister-in-law Rajvinder and brother-in-law Kulbir have been charged under Section 304-B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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