Nalanda: A newlywed woman, Anjali Kumari (18), died under suspicious circumstances, allegedly due to dowry demands, in the Telhara police station area of Keshopur village in Nalanda district, Bihar. The incident, involving Anjali’s husband Shankar Kumar, occurred about 15 months after their love marriage. Anjali’s family accuses Shankar and his family of demanding a dowry of two lakh rupees and resorting to violence when their demands were not met, leading to Anjali’s death.
According to Ram Babu Mishra, Anjali’s father from Pali village in Kako block of Jehanabad district, Shankar Kumar and his family had been pressuring them for the dowry amount. Shankar Kumar himself informed Mishra about Anjali’s death over the phone. When Mishra arrived at the in-laws’ house, he found Anjali’s lifeless body with signs of strangulation. All members of Shankar’s family were missing from the scene.
Relatives from the bride’s side disclosed that Shankar, who works as a furniture maker, had demanded the money to open a shop. He had made similar demands over the phone just four days before the incident. Allegedly, due to their refusal to comply, Shankar resorted to killing Anjali. The entire family, including Shankar, is implicated in the crime. Anjali had eloped with her cousin’s brother-in-law for the love marriage.
Police station in-charge Jay Prakash Thakur confirmed that the police had taken possession of Anjali’s body and sent it for postmortem at Bihar Sharif Sadar Hospital. The postmortem report will ascertain the cause of death. Anjali’s family has accused Shankar’s family of murder over dowry demands. Shankar has been apprehended, and the police have initiated a thorough investigation into the matter.
