Shatrughan Mahato, 21, of North Dhanusa, Naktajhik - 8 murdered his 18-year-old wife Punam on February 2 as she failed to meet his demand for a box-type bed. They had tied the nuptial knot last May. [break]
“I noticed her looking very sad since the last four months. She told me that her husband tortures her for not bringing enough dowry, especially a box-bed which he desperately wanted,” said Pavitra Mahato, Punam´s former classmate.
“She was a very sincere and promising student in our school,” she added. Puman was just one of two students out of 53 to pass class 11.
According to a local, Hari Mahato, Punam´s body was found in a sugarcane field near her house. While husband Shatrughan has been absconding since her death, police have arrested his father Biltu and brothers Rajkumar and Shivakumar, suspecting their involvement in murder.
According to the victim´s father, Maheswar, he had agreed to marry off his daughter to Shatrughan because his family had been insistant. “I gave them as much dowry as I could. I spent Rs 500,000 in total on the marriage,” said the man who owns a small cloth shop in the town. “But now he has killed my daughter just for a piece of furniture.”
The father has filed a murder complaint at the police station against his son-in-law. He has also accused Shatrughan´s father, brothers and mother Junardevi.
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