A trial court in south Kerala’s Kollam on Tuesday sentenced the husband of a 23-year-old dowry death victim Vismaya V Nair, to 10 years in jail and imposed a fine of ₹12.50 lakh.
The court had found the accused Kiran Kumar guilty on Monday.
Though Kumar was sentenced to 18 years in jail on various counts, however, he can undergo the sentences concurrently. He was found guilty under Sections 304 B (dowry death), 498 A (harassment for dowry) and 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Kiran Kumar, was arrested on June 22, 2021, a day after Vismaya, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) student, was found dead at their residence in Sasthamkotta.
Vismaya’s parents had already filed a police complaint that she was harassed and tortured for more dowry. Kumar was the lone accused in the case while his parents were exonerated.
The parents in their compliant had also said they gifted over 100 sovereigns of gold, one-acre land, among other things but her husband wanted more and harassed and tortured her for the same. Though they initially raised murder charges against the husband in post-mortem it was found to be a suicide.
The couple got married on May 30, 2020 and Kumar used to work as an assistant motor vehicles inspector. He was dismissed from service after his arrest.
The victim’s mother Sajitha V Nair said though they got justice but were not satisfied with the verdict. “We expected life term to the guilty,” she said. Father Thrivikraman Nair who was present at the court said Kumar’s parents equally played a role in their daughter’s death and he will seek legal opinion to go after them.
The father arrived in the court in the car gifted to his daughter which was a bone of contention between the couple as Kumar was not satisfied with the car (worth ₹10 lakh) her parents had gifted and had insisted on a luxury car. “I am taking the car for the first time after my daughter’s death. I wish my daughter’s death should be the last in last recurring dowry deaths,” he said.
The suicide had led to big outrage and governor Arif Mohammad Khan was among those who visited her parents. After the incident, many universities in the state made it mandatory for students to sign a declaration pledging they will not ask or give dowry after the suicide evoked enough indignation. The government also decided to fast-track all dowry-related cases.
