A newly-married woman from North Paravoor was allegedly assaulted and tortured at her husband’s house at Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode city in Kerala following an argument over poor dowry.

The woman faced brutal torture from her husband, Rahul, shortly after their marriage on May 5. The domestic violence came to light when her family paid a visit to her husband Rahul P Gopal’s residence on Sunday and noticed bruises on her body. She revealed that Rahul attacked her and even attempted to strangle her with a mobile charging cable.

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Following this, the woman’s family took her to the police station at Patheeramkavu and filed a complaint against Rahul. She also announced her decision to end her week-long marriage and returned her ‘Thali’ to Rahul.

Haridasan, the woman’s father, alleged that the police didn’t register a case against Rahul promptly.

Meanwhile, a special investigation team (SIT) led by Assistant Commissioner Saju K Abraham has been constituted to probe the case. The SIT was constituted following the woman’s complaint to the Kerala chief minister and other senior police officers that the petition she had filed earlier with the Pantheerankavu police was cold-shouldered by some of the officers. Rahul P Gopal, the victim’s husband, is the first accused in the case.

In the preliminary investigation, the special team found that the 29-year-old accused had been married twice and had not revealed the details to anyone while attempting to marry the third time. He had also not secured legal divorce in one of the marriages, it has been reported.

In this connection, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) ordered an investigation into the alleged laxity on the part of the Pantheerankavu police.

The Kozhikode city police commissioner has been asked to submit a report on the issue in 15 days. The case is set to be considered at the next sitting of the commission in June.

The woman, in her complaint, said it was the argument related to dowry that led to the alleged physical assault by her husband and his family members.

The woman also claimed that she had been taken to a hospital at Feroke after she fell unconscious following the assault and that she sustained injuries on her neck, forehead and lips.

However, the family of the accused said there were no incidents of assaults as alleged by the complainant and her family in the name of dowry. They said the alleged incidents took place over the source of some unknown telephone conversations and messages received by Rahul’s wife.

The probe team said the police would issue a lookout notice against the accused who was found absconding after he was booked on charges of domestic violence and murder attempt.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (Northern Zone) has suspended A S Sarin, SHO of Pantheerankavu police station in connection with the dowry abuse case, for failing to discharge his duties properly.