Woman dies of severe burns, father alleges dowry death

Express news service Posted: Apr 12, 2008 at 0219 hrs
Kolkata, April 11 A Jadavpur-based woman died on Thursday from severe burn injuries at the SSKM Hospital. Her father has alleged that her in-laws set his daughter on fire for not bringing in dowry. As per the complaint lodged with the Kasba police station by Gopinath Kundu, Shoma Bakshi (34) was found at her in-laws’ Jadavpur residence with around 95 per cent burn injuries.

“Her father-in-law Shishir called me up on April 2 and said that Shoma had set herself on fire. We rushed to Jadavpur only to find her badly burnt. We rushed her to the hospital but the burns were too severe. She died on Thursday,” Kundu said.

“We registered the complaint on April 3, a day after she was burnt, but the police are yet to take any action. We have come to know that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered, but none of her in-laws have been arrested. She was my only child,” Kundu, a state government employee, said.

Shankar Biswas, OC Kasba, said the body had been sent for post-mortem. “The case has been registered and our investigation is on to ascertain the reasons behind her death,” said Biswas.

Shoma had married Sunando Bakshi four years ago after a long courtship. But things went sour after marriage when Sunando, Shishir and mother-in-law Sandhyamalati began torturing her with demands for money, Kundu has stated in the complaint.