Hyderabad: Most of the cases being registered in women police stations in the city under the Domestic Violence Act are connected to love marriages. In around 50 per cent of the cases both the wife and husband are highly educated and working with software companies or multinational firms.
In all the three women police stations in the city cases under the Domestic Violence Act are increasing every year. In 2014, about 413 cases were registered and it doubled in 2015 to 898 cases. In 2016, nearly 250 cases have been registered.
An intersting fact is that most of these cases are registered for small reasons.
Rajeswar and Rajini (names changed) are software professionals working in the same organisation. They got married five years back with the help of friends and managed to convince their parents to okay their marriage.
Three years back Rajeswar went to the US as per directions of his organisation and he recently came back to Hyderabad. On the very next week after his arrival, Rajini lodged a complaint with the Central Zone women PS saying that her husband was harassing her.
"When my husband came back he started harassing because I had become a little fat. He refused to accept me and asked me to become slim as I was during the time of our marriage," Rajini said in her complaint. Women police stations' ACP K.N. Vijay Kumar said that similar cases were coming to other police stations too. "In most cases we found both the wife and husband are sensitive and do not tolerate trouble from their partners. In most cases we counsel both the husband and wife," he said.
Soumya (name changed), another victim of a love marriage who came for counselling on Tuesday to the Central Zone women PS asked her counsellors to take the initiative to provide protection, residential support and maintenance from her husband if he did not accept her. “Ours was a love marriage and I left my family because of this marriage. Now, I can’t go back. Although, I am employed I need protection and shelter,” she said.
