Manvi stands out among those present in the office of Meerut's inspector general (IG) of police, Ram Kumar. She is just six, and clasps a clay piggy bank with her tiny hands.

Manvi's mother, Seema Kaushik, committed suicide this April after allegedly being harassed by her husband and in-laws. The girl had gone to the top cop's office with her maternal grandfather, Shanti Swaroop, to "offer a bribe" after policemen allegedly demanded money to act against those responsible for the death.

"We got her (Seema) married to Sanjiv Kumar about seven years ago and soon he and his family members started harassing her mentally and physically for dowry," Swaroop said. "About four years ago, she left Sanjiv's house and started living with us. However, Sanjiv and his family kept harassing her and also registered two false cases against us. Fed up with the mental harassment, Seema ended her life."

Following the incident, Swaroop lodged an FIR against Sanjiv, his two brothers and father. The police arrested Sanjiv and he was put behind bars, but the other accused are still free. "Once, when Seema was alive, we went to the police station to file a complaint against the atrocities, but the cop present there suggested Seema hang herself rather than come to them," alleged Swaroop.

He also said the police were asking for money to prepare a final report and arrest the other accused. "The investigating officer says that nothing happens without money and is demanding Rs50,000 from me," he alleged. "This is why we decided to take such a step to let the senior officers know about the functioning of the police."

POLICE ASSURES ACTION

IG Ram Kumar promised help and action. "We will look into the allegations, the case will be thoroughly investigated and the guilty will be brought to book," he said.

Seema's brother Rohit told Mail Today that six months after his sister and Sanjiv tied the knot, the accused got a house on rent and started living there with his wife and away from his family. "After a few months, Sanjiv's landlord called me and said that Sanjiv had locked Seema inside the house for the past few days and had gone missing. We went there and rescued Seema and since then she was living with us," Rohit said.

A few months later, Seema's in-laws registered two police cases against her family. "One case was of theft and burglary in which they claimed that we decamped with all the valuables and cash from their house.

The other one was of attempt to murder. However, we went to court and the court quashed both the cases as they were found to be false. Since then, they were harassing my sister mentally," Rohit added.

One day, Shanti Swaroop came home after meeting the investigating officer and told his family that the cop was asking for a bribe. "My father is just a class IV government employee and I also got married recently. So we did not have money," said Rohit. "Suddenly, Manvi walked in with her piggy bank and asked us to take her money and give it to the cops. She was ready to part with it if her mother got justice." On the way back after meeting the IG, Manvi's piggy bank fell and broke. "She started weeping and then I bought her another one, instructing her to collect and save more money," Rohit said.

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