Telangana woman dies in US, family alleges she was harassed for dowry

The family of the woman alleged that she was being harassed from the last two months, as her husband and in-laws began demanding more dowry.

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The death of a woman hailing from Telangana's Mahbubabad district in the United States has triggered off a row as her family has alleged that she was harassed for dowry. The woman, identified as S Sandhya, hailed form Thorrur mandal and had shifted to Memphis in Tennessee, with her husband around nine months ago.

According to media reports, Sandhya married Srikanth, her relative, who was working as a software engineer in the United States. While her family agreed to give him some land in the village, her parents alleged that he continued to harass her over the last two months, demanding more dowry.

They even alleged that Srikanth’s family intimidated Sandhya and threatened to kill her if she failed to pay more dowry.

On Saturday, at around 6:30 am, Sandhya's father, Mahender, received a call stating that his daughter had killed herself in the bathroom.

“Sandhya never spoke of any trouble in her marriage for first six months. From February, she began complaining of harassment by Srikanth and his mother D Vijaya who is staying with them. Sandhya informed that she was harassed for dowry. Her husband and mother-in-law demanded Rs 1 crore.” Mahender was quoted as saying.

Mahender, a police officer working as a head constable at the Narasimhulupet police station, later approached the Thorrur police station and filed a complaint. Following this, a case was registered and an investigation was launched.

In 2017, a native of Hanamakonda in Telangana, Thirumalagiri Swathi was found dead under suspicious circumstances in London. Following the death, her parents and relatives accused her husband Sripathi Rajesh, a techie, and her in-laws of murdering her.

The death had triggered protests in the town in Telangana at the time.

Those in need of counselling can contact Roshni, a suicide helpline operational every day from 11 am to 9 pm. Roshni can be reached at 040 66202000/2001.