A 21-year-old woman, who was seven months pregnant, was found dead in Badana village on Saturday night, following which the police booked four persons, including her husband, in a dowry-related murder case.
Police said Sarabjit Kaur, who belonged to Salimpur Sekhan village in Rajpura, had married Jagtar Singh of Badana village, near Lalru, on December 23 last. Her paternal uncle Harbans said they were informed about her death around 10.30 pm on Saturday.
The family reached the spot and the body, hanging by a dupatta from the ceiling fan in her room, was pulled down in the presence of the police around two hours later. Harbans alleged that her in-laws had been harassing her for dowry. The most recent spat was resolved in the presence of police around three months ago.
On a complaint by the victim's mother Gurmeet Kaur, the police booked her husband Jagtar Singh, his brother Jagdev Singh, cousin Sarabjit Singh and mother Jaswinder Kaur under sections 304B/302 and 498A of the IPC. All four are at large.
The body was shifted to the Dera Bassi civil hospital where a board of doctors would conduct the autopsy on Monday.
What is 498a?
Indian Penal Code 498a allows a woman and her family to make a written false complaint of dowry harassment to the police which results in the husband, his parents and relatives being immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars without bail. Even if the 498a threat is false, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
498a can only be invoked by the wife or her relative. Most 498a cases are mere blackmail attempts by the wife or her close relatives. In most cases, a demand for a large sum of money is offered to the husband in exchange for settlement of the case out of court. There have been countless instances where, without any investigation, the police have arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant sister-in-laws and even 3 year old children. A typical case takes approximately 5-7 years and the conviction rate is only 2%.
There are fundamental problems with 498a in that it is 100% gender biased and singles out men as perpetrators of domestic violence and assumes that only women are victims.
In the United States domestic violence laws are gender neutral and provide protection to the victims, both men and women. If you reside in the United States please call us at (855)-WHY-498A today to set up an appointment with Mrs. Desai to provide you with a plan of action.
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