Pregnant woman's dad accuses spouse, kin of harassment
Kolhapur: The father of a seven-month pregnant woman from Sangli, who died by suicide on June 6, has accused her husband and in-laws of harassing her for dowry.
The father, veterinarian Chandrakant Lakshman Patil (55), filed a complaint with the Kupwad MIDC police on June 8, two days after his daughter, Rutuja Sukumar Rajage (29), died by suicide at her in-laws' house in Sangli district's Kupwad town.
The post-mortem report revealed that she was seven-month pregnant. In the FIR, the father said the marriage took place in 2021. "Her husband, Sukumar, is working in Merchant Navy as a second officer... Rutuja was being harassed for dowry off late," the father stated in the FIR.
Acting on the complaint, the police nabbed Sukumar, his father, Suresh Rajage, and mother Alaka on June 9, after which they were sent to two days of police custody. On Wednesday, they were sent in judicial remand. "Rujuta was harassed for dowry. We invoked Section 85 of BNS for abetment of suicide by dowry demand," assistant inspector Deepak Bhandwalkar of Kupwad MIDC police said.
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