JD(U) leader accused of killing daughter-in-law for dowry in Bihar

WHILE LAUNCHING THE ANTIDOWRY CAMPAIGN, THE CM SAID BIHAR RANKED 2ND IN INDIA AFTER UP WHEN IT CAME TO CASES RELATED TO THE SOCIAL EVIL

MUZAFFARPUR: A day after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar launched a campaign against dowry, a leader of his party — Janata Dal (U) — was charged with killing his daughter-in-law in Muzaffarpur.

Police said an FIR was registered late on Tuesday evening against JD(U) organisational secretary Arun Kumar Kushwaha for allegedly killing his daughterin-law Rina Kumari for dowry.

Kushwaha’s son and two other relatives were also named as accused in the FIR.

Karja police station SHO Ram Balak Yadav said Kumari’s father Mahesh Bhagat, in the FIR registered two days after the incident alleged, “We had given cash, jewellery and other gift items at the time of my daughter’s marriage, but her in-laws were demanding a four-wheeler. When I expressed my inability, they started torturing my daughter to put pressure on me.”

“They had threatened me on many occasions of dire consequences if we failed to meet their demand. Finally, they killed my daughter on October 1. They neither informed me nor any of my relatives before performing her last rites. It is clear that they wanted to destroy the evidences.”

Kushwaha, however, refuted the charges. “My daughter-inlaw was observing fast during the Navratra festival. On October 1, she complained of stomach pain. We were taking her to a doctor in the town but she died on way. We later performed the last rites after informing her father,” Kushwaha said.

On Monday, while launching the anti-dowry campaign, the CM said Bihar ranked second in the country after neighbouring UP when it came to cases related to the social evil.