The deceased woman had two children — the younger aged 1.5 years and the other three — and both of them are healthy, police said. The deceased woman had two children — the younger aged 1.5 years and the other three — and both of them are healthy, police said.

A 27-year-old woman died allegedly due to starvation forced upon her by her husband and mother-in-law for dowry in Kerala’s Kollam, PTI reported quoting police official. In a case that drew public outrage, the woman was denied proper food for days and survived only on soaked rice and sugar syrup.

Thushara, a native of Karunagappally near Kollam, breathed her last at a government hospital, police said.

At the time of her death on the midnight of March 21 due to illness and uneasiness, the woman weighed just 20 kg, they added. Thushara’s husband Chandulal and his mother Geetha Lal were arrested and remanded Friday. The alleged torture of the woman came to light in a probe the police conducted after her death.

“She looked like a bag of a skeleton with hardly any flesh on her body. She weighed just 20 kg. A detailed inquiry has thrown light to the cruelty. Her relatives alleged that the torture was to get more dowry,” a police official said.

Vijayalakshmi, Thushara’s mother has alleged the accused had been torturing her daughter for the past five years. She said they had not allowed the family members to meet her for one year. “My daughter had suffered gruesome torture. We did not give any police complaint as we feared it would put my daughter’s life in danger,” she said.

A neighbour said the woman was allegedly tortured mentally and physically by the husband and her in-laws. The woman’s husband used to do odd jobs other than welding works. The couple married in 2013. At the time of the marriage, the woman’s family had given some gold ornaments and money to the man’s family and had promised to give Rs 2 lakh later.

The deceased woman had two children — the younger aged 1.5 years and the other three — and both of them are healthy, police said.

-With PTI

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