Man, kin booked for enslaving wife, cruelty

Hyderabad: On a complaint from a 35-year-old woman, who alleged she was physically confined, assaulted and mentally harassed by her husband and in-laws, the police booked her husband and four others of his family under sections of cruelty and dowry harassment, among others.

The complainant, Jyothi Agarwal, said she was married nine years ago and since then, was treated as a slave by her in-laws and husband as she was from a backward community.

However, things came to the fore last week when her husband Rajesh Agarwal threw her out of the house along with their two sons, five-year-old Nakul Agarwal, who suffers from childhood apraxia of speech disorder, and five-month-old Vedansh.

Jyothi, who has been staying with her polio-affected brother in Srikrishna Nagar of Yousufguda, decided to approach the police as her husband refuse to cater to Nakul’s needs, as he needed speech therapy, without which he would not be able to speak properly. Instead, her life was threatened if she called or visited their house.

“My husband Rajesh Agarwal, father in-law Purushottam Das Agarwal and mother in-law Krishna Agrawal, had, at the time of marriage, given me a false hope with a fraudulent intention. They needed a maid and a servant, not a wife for their son,” Jyothi said.

She said that during the past nine years, she suffered a slew of humiliating experiences, ranging from physical assault and being treated as an untouchable to being force-fed abortion pills and ridiculed as a ‘bad omen’.

“Despite my husband and in-laws calling me ‘achut (untouchable)’ and confining me and my children with a separate stove in a separate room, not allowing me to enter the kitchen, dining hall or even show my face, I tolerated it hoping my son Nakul will get treatment and can get good education in the same school where Rajesh’s brother’s kids are studying,” she said.

Jyothi’s friend M. Giria said: “Jyothi was a very confident woman, but after being ill-treated, she lost hope in life. She is living only for her kids. She tried to end her life twice but her sister counselled her.”

Detailing her experiences further, Jyothi said: “When I was six months pregnant with Nakul in 2018, my husband Rajesh, father in-law Purushottam Das Agrawal, brother in-law Ritesh Agrawal and his wife Pooja Agrawal, badly beat me and warned me against entering common areas.”

“When I tried to question them for their cruel behaviour, my brother in-law Ritesh his wife Pooja badly beat me, kicking on my stomach and pushing me against a wall. I developed pain in my stomach and bled from my ear, following which I was treated at Harmain Hospital in Shamsheergunj. After I was discharged, my mother in-law Krishna Agrawal forced down abortion pills my throat while my husband held back my hands,” she said.

Jyothi said that her father, who was bedridden at the time of her marriage, and her mother both died in 2021, leaving her feeling low, with only her sister, who works as a teacher, to take care of her brother and currently, her and her kids.

The Bharosa police, meanwhile, registered an FIR under sections 498 (A), 506, 154 and 157 of the IPC, and Section 3 of the Dowry Prevention Act against Rajesh Agrawal, Purushottam Das Agrawal, Krishna Agrawal, Ritesh Agrawal and Pooja Agrawal.

The women police, last Friday, called the accused for counselling, but they refused and instead, warned Jyothi of dire consequences right outside the police station and refused to take care of her kids, a police officer said.

“We have registered a case against Jyothi's husband and in-laws. We are making our best efforts to see that Jyothi and her kids get justice. Even if the case goes to court, Jyothi will get justice and as per the law, her husband Rajesh Agrawal should take care of his wife and kids’ financial expenses,” a woman police officer said.