Incident Reports

Lady‚ with infant‚ 'killed by in-laws'‚ claim parents

2015-04-16

Madhes, Saptari, Rajbiraj, Ward 8

"Shakuntala didn't commit suicide, she was murdered by her husband in cahoots with the mother-in-law and the step-son," claimed Shakuntala Sah's parents at a press conference organised in Rajbiraj of Saptari today. Kashi Sah and Raju Devi Sah, parents of the woman who succumbed to burn injuries on Wednesday, urged police to take strict action against Sankutala's husband Prakash Sah, mother-in-law Indumala Devi Sah and step-son Prabhakar Bikram Sah. Shakuntala had burnt her one-and-half-month-old son to death and set herself on fire after a dispute with her husband in Rajbiraj, Saptari on April 13. She was rescued by her neighbours and was taken to a Biratnagar-based hospital after her primary treatment at Rajbiraj-based Gajendra Narayan Singh Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital. Her one-and-half-month-old child had died on the same day whereas Sakuntala had died while undergoing treatment on Wednesday. Though police and the in-laws said it was a suicide, the woman's parents said that Shakuntala and her child were killed intentionally. "After her marriage in 2011/12, she was tortured for not bringing enough dowry and they even expelled her from the house. But, they had later settled the dispute," said Sakuntala's parents, "We had not imagined that they would go to this extent." "It is a nightmare for us," they said. Satya Narayan Sah, cousin of Sakuntala, said, "A one-and-half-month-old infant has died in the incident. No mother would set her infant on fire and kill herself." "Prakash' family is trying to mislead police investigation claiming the incident to be a suicide," he added. Prakash had married Sakuntala saying he was unmarried when he had already married another woman and had a son from her, Satya Narayan said. "Police earlier didn't agree to register the case and named the incident a suicide," complained her parents. DSP Narayan Prasad Chimariya, spokesperson at District police Office, said, "No family member was present at home when the incident happened. It must be a suicide as per our investigation." The room was locked from inside when her neighbours informed us about the incident, he added.
Details and Impacts
Violent / Non-violent Violent
Onesided / Twosided Onesided
Collective / Interpersonal Interpersonal
Primary Form Infanticide
Secondary Form Suicide
Weapons Fire
Primary Cause Domestic violence
Secondary Cause Related to disputes over dowry
Actor 1 - Number of people 1
Actor 1 - Affiliations Family/relative
Actor 1 - Youth na
Actor 2 - Number of people 1
Actor 2 - Affiliation (Target) Family/relative
Actor 2 - Youth na
Total Killed 1
Youth Killed 1
Total Injured 1
Female Injured 1
National/Online Media

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