BENGALURU: A 30-year-old house wife, suspected to be harassed for dowry, allegedly committed suicide at her residence in Gangondahalli on Monday afternoon. However, a formal complaint was registered only on Tuesday noon. Smitha R Kinnal was married to Srikanth Sajjan, 40, an Ayurvedic doctor and and a lecturer in Ayurvedic college , for seven years and had four children.
Investigations revealed that Smitha hung herself from the ceiling while she was at home with her one-and-a half year old son who was said to be in another room. Her other children had gone to school. The incident came to light when the mother-in-law returned home around 3.30 pm on Monday after bringing the other children from school and found her hanging. She immediately
informed her younger son who then approached the police and informed them about the incident. The police rushed to the spot and shifted the body for post mortem. According to the police, at the time of the incident Smitha’s parents were not present in the city and had gone to Ballari following which it took time for them to register a complaint.
“When we informed Smitha’s parents about the incident, the father said that they needed time to think about whether they will go ahead with the plaint or not. After repeated calls, they came to the police station on Tuesday noon around 1.40 pm and filed a case of dowry harassment. Smitha’s parents charged that she was constantly tortured for dowry by Srikanth and his parents and she was upset about this. Both the families had discussed this and her in-laws promised not to harass her further. But after a few months, they began torturing Smitha again,” said an investigating officer.
Based on the complaint filed by Smitha’s parents, Srikanth has been detained for questioning. A case has been registered under section 304 (B) IPC.
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