Wife accuses Mangaluru Urban Development Authority chief of dowry harassment, attempt to kill her 

BENGALURU: Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) commissioner GT Dinesh Kumar has been accused of trying to kill his wife by lacing a fruit juice with poison, besides allegedly harassing her for dowry.

The police have registered a case against him based on his wife’s complaint. The police said although Kumar is untraceable and his phone switched off after the alleged incident took place on Friday night, efforts are now on to trace him and question him about the incident.

Kumar's wife Deepti KP has filed a complaint with the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police, alleging the attempt on her life by her husband, following which the police have registered a FIR. She has also alleged that Kumar and his elder brother's wife Ramya often assaulted her over dowry.

In her complaint, Deepti has alleged that on Friday night (January 22), finding her alone at their house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Kumar had cajoled her into drinking fruit juice.

Before she consumed it, she had asked him why he was offering her juice all of a sudden. He allegedly had replied it was because she often complained of fatigue and that the juice would refresh her. After she had consumed the juice, Kumar had left the place.

And about half-an-hour later she reportedly lost consciousness. In her complaint, Deepti said she regained consciousness a little later and immediately called her parents who live in Chitradurga. The parents rushed to her RR Nagar home and took her to a private hospital for treatment.

The doctors at the hospital, after treating her, sent a memo to the RR Nagar police about the incident, following which the police took Deepti’s complaint. The couple got married in 2015 in Mysuru and have two daughters.

Several attempts to contact Kumar over the phone proved futile as his phone continued to remain switched off. A senior police official who is part of the investigations, confirmed to The New Indian Express: "We received a memo from the hospital and then called Deepti to take her statement. She has given a written complaint and an FIR has been registered based on the complaint.

"We also gathered evidence from the house and samples of the poison which Deepti was (allegedly) forced to drink. We have also collected the CCTV footage as part of the investigations. On Saturday, we tried contacting Dinesh Kumar over the phone to ask him to appear before the investigating officer, but his phone was switched off. Efforts are now on to nab him. We will take action according to the Supreme Court guidelines," the officer added.

DCP (West) Sanjeev Patil said: "The investigating officer is gathering evidence, based on which necessary action will be taken."