Kerala court convicts husband in Vismaya dowry death case
Kollam Additional Sessions Court Judge KN Sujith ruled that the motive for the suicide was dowry harassment. The sentence will be handed down on Tuesday.
FollowA court in Kerala on Monday convicted Kiran Kumar in connection with the death of his wife Vismaya. The 24-year-old Ayurveda Medical student was found hanging from the window of a bathroom in Kumar's house on June 21, 2021.
Kollam Additional Sessions Court Judge KN Sujith ruled that the motive for the suicide was dowry harassment. The sentence will be handed down on Tuesday.
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Defendant Kiran Kumar and Vismaya's father Trivikraman Nair were present in the court for the verdict. The verdict came less than a year after Vismaya's death. The court proceedings in the case, which shocked the entire state, were held in fast-track mode.
According to the prosecution, Vismaya committed suicide as she could not bear the torture inflicted by her husband Kiran -- then an assistant motor vehicle inspector attached to the enforcement squad in Kollam -- for dowry. He was charged under IPC sections relating to dowry harassment, abetment to suicide, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt.
The judgment came on the basis of 42 witnesses' statements and over 102 documents. The defendant tried to prove in court that the case was fabricated and that Vismaya had committed suicide because of problems with her own father.
Vismaya's father and brother had alleged that her husband tortured her for dowry. Vismaya's relatives later released WhatsApp chats and pictures that revealed the brutal torture she had to face.
South Zone IG Harshita Athalluri, who led the investigation, is hoping that the court provides exemplary punishment to the husband. The officer said the fact that Kiran is a government official adds to the seriousness of the issue.
She said, "The investigating officers and the public prosecutor did an excellent job. The team led by DySP Rajkumar collected all the evidence. All available statements were taken. Digital evidence, phone conversations and chats with the accused were collected as evidence. The combined effort enabled the police to file a 500-page charge sheet within 79 days."
Vismaya's parents had demanded that Kiran's parents and sister's husband be added as defendants. However, Athalluri said that no evidence was found linking them to the case and that was why they were not included in the case. But the IG made it clear that Kiran's parents could not evade moral responsibility.
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