Aul: Acting on a complaint lodges by Congress nominee for the Aul Assembly constituency Dr Debasmita Sharma, the Aul police have registered a case of dowry torture against the complainant’s husband and in-laws. The police have registered the case under Sections 109, 85, 125 and 115 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act.
In her report, Dr Debasmita alleged that she was married to Dr Rahul Pratap Rai on December 14, 2022 and soon after her marriage her husband and in-laws started torturing her mentally and physically for Rs 50 lakh dowry. Her husband pressurised her to get the money from her father Devendra Sharma, former Congress MLA from Aul, to open a private clinic in Aul. However, when Dr Debasmita and her father expressed their helplessness in giving such a large sum of money, her husband and in-laws started torturing her frequently.
On one occasion in October 2023, Dr Rahul even tried to kill Dr Debasmita by smothering her with a pillow, the FIR registered read.
Dr Debasmita has also alleged that her husband often forced her to take alcoholic drinks with him and when she protested, he punished her with burning cigarette stubs. As the mental and physical torture had become unbearable, she sought help from the police to relieve her of the miseries.
In response to her complaint, the police have registered cases of dowry torture against six persons.
It is worth mentioning here that Dr Debasmita was practicing as a physician at a Community Health Centre (CHC) and resigned from her job early this year to contest the Assembly elections as a Congress candidate in the state. However, she lost the election to Pratap Keshari Deb of the BJD.
