Kollam: A 24-year-old newlywed from Neendakara in Kollam has alleged that her husband subjected her to brutal physical and mental torture in Saudi Arabia, including hitting her head with a pressure cooker, kicking her lower abdomen and hitting her private parts, after harassing her over dowry.The woman, who returned to Kerala on Sept 30, is undergoing treatment at Kollam District Hospital with multiple injury marks and bruises on her body. Chavara police have registered a case against her husband Nandu, 28, and his parents Dinesh and Jagadamma on her complaint. The case has been registered under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.According to her complaint, the harassment began within a week of her marriage on July 27. Her husband’s family allegedly complained that she had brought insufficient dowry and repeatedly taunted her over the amount given by her parents.She alleged that the harassment was not confined to demands for dowry. Nandu allegedly compared her with his ex-girlfriend and told her that she was not good-looking enough or suitable for his social status. He allegedly restricted her communication with her friends, changed her phone number and prevented her from freely using WhatsApp and social media accounts.About a month after the marriage, Nandu went to Saudi Arabia for work. She alleged that he continued to verbally abuse and control her through phone and video calls. Following the harassment, she returned to her parental home.Nandu later took her to Saudi Arabia, telling her that she could stay with him until she found a job and that they could spend time together. She said the situation became much worse after she reached Saudi. The couple was staying alone in a flat where Nandu allegedly began physically assaulting her repeatedly. She alleged that he used whatever was available in the house to attack her.She alleged that she suffered a head injury after Nandu struck her with a pressure cooker. She also alleged that he kicked her in the lower abdomen and hit her on her private parts. She claimed that her body bore around 30 injury marks and that several parts had turned blue because of severe bruising.“I had told the police about all these things when they came to record my statement, but none of them was documented,” she said.She also alleged that Nandu would hold a knife against her and threaten to stab her, while forcing her to make audio recordings containing false and humiliating statements about herself. She said she was forced to say in the recordings that she had sexual relationship with several men before and after her marriage and had uploaded intimate material on pornographic websites. She was also allegedly forced to say that she wanted to work in a sex racket after divorcing Nandu. “He sent those recordings to my family and people in my locality. Everyone believed them,” she said.She said Nandu also allegedly took control of the money in her bank account. “He behaved like a psychopath. His family knew about the harassment,” she added.After noticing the recordings, her parents contacted Nandu and informed him that they did not want the relationship to continue and wanted their daughter to return to Kerala. She subsequently returned on Sept 30 and was admitted to District Hospital. Her family and hospital authorities informed the police, following which officers recorded her statement and registered the case.Police said Nandu is currently in Saudi Arabia and the investigation is under way. The woman is a postgraduate in data analytics.
