Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Aug 25: In an incident which occurred at Banashankari Layout in the city recently, a woman, with help of a women's organization, beat up her mother-in-law, who allegedly meted out dowry harassment besides forcing her to abort her pregnancy, and then driving her out of home.

The daughter-in-law in question, Roopa, has filed a complaint in Banashankari police station, accusing her mother-in-law, Amaravati, living in Raghavendra Layout in Padmanabhanagar here, of pestering her to bring more dowry, forcing her to undergo abortion, and then kicking her out of her husband's home. The police have since arrested the mother-in-law, while Roopa's husband, Jnanesh, has gone into hiding.

Jnanesh had married Roopa, his elder sister's daughter living in Chamarajpet here, during February last. He had got dowry in marriage, besides getting an additional sum of five lac rupees from his wife for opening a cloth shop at Bashyam Circle in Rajajinagar. When Roopa was in the fourth month of her pregnancy, she was not provided with proper food, was tortured mentally and physically, and then forcibly made to submit herself to abort her pregnancy. Within a few days thereafter, Roopa was driven out of her husband's home.

It is said that Amaravati had also driven out her elder daughter-in-law and wife of her first son, Manujunath Achar, Shruthi, in similar fashion. Aggrieved by these developments, Roopa had contacted women's helpline. Roopa also got support of a women's group. Roopa and Shruthi, with the support of members of this women's group, then visited the home of their husbands and beat up their mother-in-law badly, it is learnt.