Miyapur: Woman forced to eat meat, commits suicide

Hyderabad: A 23-year-old newly wed woman committed suicide at Miyapur at being forced to eat non-vegetarian food by her husband and in-laws, and unable to bear their demands for additional dowry. The police said that Marri Swetha, the victim, hanged herself in the family’s rented home.

Swetha, a native of Sangareddy district, married Marri Chennareddy of Vikarabad district, in May this year. At the time of the marriage, her parents gave the groom Rs 4 lakh in cash and 10 tolas of gold as dowry.

The couple lived with Chennareddy’s parents in Siripuram, in Vikarabad district. Within a month of marriage, Swetha’s husband and in laws began harassing her and demanding an additional 10 tolas of gold. When she told her parents about their demands, they promised to arrange for the additional dowry in a few months.

Swetha’s father G. Panduranga Reddy said that his daughter was a vegetarian before marriage, but her husband and in-laws forced her to eat non-vegetarian food. “They were torturing her for more dowry, and they were asking her to eat meat. When she refused, they forced her to eat it in front of them,” he said.

The couple moved into a rented house in FCI Colony, Miyapur, about 20 days ago. The harassment increased after this, which drove Swetha to suicide, he alleged. The owner of the house found Swetha’s body hanging on Monday evening and informed her parents and the police.

A case of dowry harassment has been registered against Swe-tha’s husband and in-laws, based on the complaint filed by her father.

Miyapur inspector Harishchandra Reddy said Swetha’s in-laws claimed that they had forced her to eat meat because she was physically weak, believing that the meat would make her healthy.

“It has been found that they were demanding additional dowry. The investigation will proceed based on the evidence,” he said.