Woman found dead at in-laws’ house, dowry harassment suspected

A 24-year-old woman was found hanging at her in-laws’ house in Kollam on Monday, in a suspected case of death related to dowry harassment.

The death of Vismaya V Nair, wife of Kiran Kumar, an assistant motor vehicle inspector with the state Motor Vehicle Department, has sparked outrage in the state.

The state women’s commission has sought a report from police, which have registered a case for unnatural death.
Kiran, an engineering graduate, has gone into hiding.

Vismaya, an Ayurveda doctor, had married Kiran in May 2020. Days before her suspected suicide, Vismaya had told her family about the torture she was subjected to by her husband. Screenshots of WhatsApp chats attributed to Vismaya purportedly showed that a latest provocation for the torture was that Kiran did not like the car which Vismaya’s father recently gifted the couple.

Before her death, Vismaya had also shared photos of bruises on her face and hands sustained from the torture.
Vismaya’s father Trivikraman Nair told media that his daughter had been tortured by Kiran, who had been demanding money. “At the time of marriage, I had given 100 sovereigns of gold, 1.20 acres of land and a new car. However, he was torturing my daughter, demanding more money. As the car, which was gifted to the couple, was bought after availing a loan, I could not meet his demand for more money,’’ he said.

Trivikraman said he had gifted a new car worth Rs 11 lakh. “But Kiran used to harass my daughter saying that that car does not fit for his status. He wanted the car to be sold and the money given to him.”

Vismaya’s family friend Sakeer Husain said Kiran used to harass her demanding more money. “The family had even thought about legal remedies against Kiran. She had been even reluctant to stay at his house. On many occasions, Kiran had forcibly taken Vismaya to his house,’’ he said.