Dowry demand drives woman to end life

HYDERABAD: Alleged dowry harassment by her husband and in-laws forced a 25-year-old woman to commit suicide by jumping into Hussainsagar.
The victim was identified as Sneha Barala, 25, wife of Akshay Barala, a jeweller from Moosapet. Sneha's body was found floating in the water body on Monday night.
According to police, Sneha was married to Akshay eight months ago and at the time of the wedding Rs 35 lakh dowry was given to the groom.
"A few months after the marriage, according to the victim's family members, Akshay began physically and mentally harassing Sneha for additional dowry. They claimed she committed suicide due to the harassment," Ramgopalpet inspector A Ganga Reddy said.
Sneha left her house on Sunday night and did not return. Based on a complaint lodged by her husband, a missing case was booked at the Kukatpally police station on Monday. Police suspect that Sneha might have jumped into the lake on Sunday night and the body surfaced a day later.
After fishing out the body on Monday night, the Ramgopalpet police alerted the family members of the victim. On Tuesday, the body was identified by the victim's family members and after the postmortem police handed over the body to her parents.
Based on a complaint lodged by the victim's father, police have booked a case under section 304-B (Dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Akshay and three of his family members. No arrests have been made yet.