DHADING, April 29: Eight days since the suspicious death of a woman in Tripurasundari Rural Municipality-4 of Dhadhing, family members have filed a complaint accusing her in-laws of murdering the woman for dowry.
On April 20, Menuka Neupane of Karki Gaun was found dead at her home. Though her husband's family claims it was a suicide, parents of the deceased say she was brutally beaten up and offered poison to make it look like a suicide.
Woman accused of murdering daughter-in-law for dowry
There were blue and black bruises all over the body and face of the deceased, which made her death more suspicious. Menuka's brother Basudev Neupane informed Republica that his sister was bleeding heavily from nose and mouth. "If she had consumed poison by herself, how can there be so many bruises in her body. Also, she was bleeding heavily which proves it wasn't a suicide," said Basudev, adding, "So, we demand for proper investigation."
It had just been three months since Menuka had tied the knot with Rupesh Dhungana of Tripurasundari-4. It was an arranged marriage. The family of the bride had told well ahead of the marriage that they would not be able to offer dowry to which the groom's family had shown no objection. However, after marriage, Menuka was repeatedly tortured for dowry, according to Menuka's family.
Sixteen days after her marriage when Menuka visited her maternal home, she had complained that her in-laws had been torturing her for dowry. When Menuka's parents heard about the alleged suicide of their daughter, they called her in-laws but they were told that she was undergoing treatment.
When the irked family members reached police station for filing complaint, police refused to register it but took away the written complaint. Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police (SP) Raj Kumar Baidwar informed Republica that police have expedited investigation into the case upon receiving the complaint letter.
He further said that they are yet to receive the postmortem report of the victim. "If the report proves it was a murder, we will take stern action against the perpetrators," Baidawar assured.
