UP Woman Murdered Over Dowry: Stop Paying Grooms To Marry Your Daughters!

A tragic case of dowry-related violence has emerged from Uttar Pradesh's Amroha, where a newly married woman was allegedly beaten to death by her husband for failing to meet his demands for a TVS Apache bike and ₹3 lakh in dowry. The deceased, Meena, who had been married to Sundar of Baikheda village for two years, had reportedly been enduring harassment over dowry demands since their marriage.

UP Woman Beaten To  Death By Husband Over Dowry

Meena had been staying at her parents' home in Soharka since Rakshabandhan. According to family members, Sundar visited her daily, often dining with her parents. On September 15 night, he took her back to his home, where he once again confronted her over the dowry. When she couldn't fulfil his demands, Sundar allegedly assaulted her with sticks, strangled her, and then fled the scene.

Residents alerted the police, leading Meena's family to the station, where they demanded the arrest of Sundar. Meena’s father, Vijay Khadak Banshi, filed a formal complaint against Sundar, along with his mother, sister, and four others. Authorities have since registered a case based on the family's complaint, and the woman's body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.  

Similar Incident From UP

In a similar incident from UP, a newly married woman was murdered by her husband and in-laws over dowry demands in the Surajpur police station area in June 2022. The accused were identified as Prince, 23, Nandkishore, 52, and Seema, 48, who resided in Biraundi village. The family had strangled the newly married woman to death with a cable wire.

The deceased was identified as Anju, who was married to Prince on February 27 of this year. Prince is a second-year engineering student who doesn’t have a job. On Thursday, the couple had gone shopping at a mall and returned home around 10 pm. Around midnight, Anju’s in-laws called the police and informed them that Anju had died after suddenly vomiting blood.

When the SHO of Surajpur Police Station, Avdesh Pratap, arrived at their house, Anju’s body was found lying on the bed, bleeding from the nose and mouth. Strangulation marks on her neck made the police suspicious, and the body was sent for an autopsy. The post-mortem report revealed that Anju was strangled to death and also pointed out some antemortem injuries.

According to the police, the accused weren't satisfied with the Swift car that Anju’s family had given them. They were demanding a Fortuner car and Rs 10 lakh in cash as dowry from Anju’s family. All three accused were arrested and sent to custody.

What Data Reveals

According to National Crime Records Bureau data, 35,493 dowry deaths happened in India. Uttar Pradesh ranked first with 11,874 cases in the five-year period. Why are numerous dowry deaths still happening despite the ban on dowry? Although dowry has been made illegal on paper, Indian society is still exchanging it in the name of "gifts," "tradition" "culture, and "family reputation".

A woman’s worth in her in-law's place is determined by the dowry that she brings, and the woman’s parents take pride in showcasing their economic status by giving a hefty dowry to their daughter. Unfortunately, the majority of society fails to understand that direct or indirect dowry demands during the wedding, under the guise of tradition, are just the beginning of never-ending demands.

The concept of dowry is so normalised in our society that it only becomes a problem when dowry-related crimes happen. By hook or crook, the woman’s family tries to keep meeting the dowry demands so as not to jeopardise their daughter’s matrimonial life. When all their resources cease and they stop giving, dowry-related crimes happen, and that’s when the women and their families seek legal help.

Why not just nip it in the bud by refusing to go ahead with marriage alliances that demand dowry? Isn't it high time Indian families stopped paying the groom to marry their daughter? Shouldn't we be ashamed to determine women’s worth by money?