The victim, who had a 16-month-old daughter, was threatened to consume toilet bleach by her husband and in-laws, or bear the consequences of witnessing the death of her child



Accused Ghansham Shah with his wife Dolly and their daughter

Even as the BJP is raising the slogan to save the girl child, one of its party workers in Mumbai has been accused of killing his wife for bearing a daughter. The victim, Dolly Shah (28), who had a 16-month-old daughter, was threatened to consume toilet bleach by her husband and in-laws, or bear the consequences of witnessing the death of her child. The woman chose the former to keep her kid from harm’s way.



Dolly’s brother Vishal Gupta. Pics/Sameer Markande

Speaking to mid-day, Dolly’s brother Rohit Gupta, who is a resident of Assam, said that he had married off his sister to Ghansham Shah three years ago. Ghansham, who also hails from Assam, works as a BJP party worker, and moved to Mumbai a few years ago.

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When Dolly got pregnant, her in-laws started demanding for a male child. However, when she delivered a girl in 2014, the situation turned from bad to worse. Dolly’s in-laws started torturing her mentally and physically. “It is not her fault that she gave birth to a girl,” Vishal Gupta, Dolly’s second brother, alleged.

In April, her mother-in-law along with her husband asked her to consume bleach, if she wanted to save her daughter. With no option in hand, Dolly consumed the chemical.

At the time, the family had filed a police complaint under section 489 (a) for dowry harassment and 307 for attempt to murder. The Mira road police station had also arrested Ghansam, but he was released soon.

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“The chemical burnt her food pipe and digestive system. The pipe had to be replaced with an artificial one,” said Rohit, who moved from Assam to Mira Road, to take care of his sister. But, on August 31, Dolly’s health deteriorated. She was rushed to KEM Hospital, where she died on September 5.

The family has now demanded that the culprits be brought to book. Commenting on the issue, Ashok Bagal, police official at the Mira Road police station, who was involved in the investigation, said, “We had received the complaint a few months ago. We also arrested the husband. Now, we have to take into account the woman’s death and carry out investigations accordingly.”