Man awarded 10-year jail term for abetting wife's suicide

VIRUDHUNAGAR: A 31-year-old man from Arupukottai was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment on Thursday, under the charges of abetting his wife's suicide.
 
The Srivilliputhur Mahila Court sentenced the 10-year imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 4,000 on Murugan after a case was registered against him in 2015 at Arupukottai Taluk police station for harassing his wife Karthikai Selvi (21) for dowry, following which she died by suicide.

According to the sources, Murugan and Karthikai Selvi, who were in a relationship during their college days, got married in 2012. Selvi's parents who were against the marriage eventually accepted her, following which Murugan began harassing Selvi for dowry.

"Earlier, Selvi's mother had given her jewels to retrieve Murugan's land that had been mortgaged. However, Murugan continued to harass his wife for dowry," sources said. Unable to cope with the situation, Selvi took an extreme step. She was survived by a 1-year-old child at the time of her death," sources added.

(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu Health department's helpline 104 and Sneha suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)