Rs2 lakh to cover dowry death case

Cop father takes the money for not reporting daughter’s poisoning by in-laws

AURANGABAD: In a sensational case, a police patil of Sunegaon village in Latur demanded Rs 50 lakh for not going to the police with the complaint of alleged poisoning of his daughter by her in-laws.

Devidas Jaibhay demanded that his daughter Shobha’s in-laws pay him Rs50 lakh for escaping a police complaint under the Dowry Act. However, when villagers and police intervened, Jaibhay settled the deal at Rs2 lakh after a day. All the while the deal was being cracked, Shobha’s dead body lay in the porch of the house, even as Loha police officials remained silent spectators.

Shobha, who was married to Sopan Kendre of Malakoli village eight years ago, had consumed poison and ended her life at his house. After a brief happy period in her marriage, Shobha’s in-laws along with husband Kendre began harassing her mentally and physically, leading to severe depression that lasted years. Finally, a frustrated Shobha committed suicide on October 13, 2007 by consuming poison.

Upon hearing of her death, Jaibhay along with his brothers rushed to Kendre’s house and accused the in-laws of having forcefully poisoned his daughter. They also demanded a post-mortem of the body.
When some villagers intervened, Jaibhay demanded Rs50 lakh for keeping the police at bay, eventually settling  at Rs2 lakh.

Loha police inspector Gowardhan Kauthekar disclosed that this was the eighth such incident in the tehsil alone. “The police cannot act without receiving any
complaint,” they asserted.