GURGAON: Around a week after a 28-year-old woman and three daughters were found dead in a well at Badorpur village in Nuh, her husband was arrested on charges of abetment to suicide, police said on Sunday.Shahid (30), a police officer said, admitted during interrogation that he assaulted his wife Sahila a day before she jumped into the well with their children Aksha (5), Saniya (2), and four-month-old Sanaya. The incident brought into focus allegations of sustained domestic abuse, including dowry harassment, physical violence, and repeated taunts from the woman’s parents-in-law for not giving birth to a son. A murder case was registered against seven members of Shahid’s family after the woman’s father alleged that the abuse had escalated in the days before the four were found dead.
“Investigators learned that he was an addict and was unemployed, which often led to domestic disputes in the family,” a police spokesperson said. Police said the investigation so far suggests that Sahila was distressed by pressure at home and jumped into the well along with her daughters. However, Sahila’s family had alleged that she was pushed into the well along with the children.
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Police plan to seek Shahid’s remand for further questioning to ascertain the sequence of events and determine whether other people were involved.Sahila and Shahid got married in 2018. Her father Hanif, a resident of Alwar in Rajasthan, told police that substantial dowry had been given to her in-laws at the time of marriage, including a motorcycle, Rs 1 lakh in cash and household items, but the family was “never satisfied”.In his complaint, Hanif said the harassment began early in the marriage, with repeated demands for a Hyundai Creta. He alleged that Shahid, Sahila’s brothers-in-law Zubair and Saddam, father-in-law Isab, and other relatives — Maqsoodan, Maimuna and Sanji — subjected her to sustained mental and physical abuse. According to the complaint, torture worsened after Sahila gave birth to daughters and not a son.“From the beginning, they kept pressuring and harassing my daughter for a Creta,” Hanif said in his complaint, adding that he repeatedly tried to reason with the family and, at times, brought Sahila back to her parental home to shield her from the abuse.Hanif also alleged that about six months ago, Sahila was locked inside a room and thrashed. Her jewellery, including bangles, necklaces and chains, were also taken away. When Hanif sent his son Rashid to check on her, Rashid, too, was allegedly assaulted and confined. He later called police, who rescued him.The incident led to a complaint at Firozpur Jhirka police station, where a community meeting was held. According to the family, Sahila’s husband and in-laws admitted they were wrong and the matter was settled then. But Hanif said the situation deteriorated again after Sahila gave birth to her third daughter around four months ago. Two days before the deaths, Sahila called her father and told him that her in-laws had beaten her badly and were threatening to kill her, according to the FIR.According to police, Sahila went to the family’s farmland on March 8 to harvest mustard. When she did not return home by evening, around Iftar, relatives began searching the nearby fields and surrounding areas, but found no trace of her.Around 8.30pm that night, Hanif received a call from a person in Badopur, asking if Sahila had reached her parental home. Hanif tried calling her marital family through the night to find out about his daughter but got no response. The next morning, while on his way to the village, he was informed by the village headman that Sahila and her daughters were found dead in a well.Subhash Chandra, SHO of Firozpur Jhirka Sadar police station, reached the spot with a fire brigade team. The bodies were pulled out with help from villagers. Police sent them to a mortuary at a govt hospital in Mandikhera.Around 8.30pm that night, Hanif received a call from a person in Badopur, asking if Sahila had reached her parental home. Hanif tried calling her marital family through the night to find out about his daughter, but got no response. The next morning, while on his way to the village, he was informed by the village headman that Sahila and her daughters had been found dead in a well.Subhash Chandra, SHO of Firozpur Jhirka Sadar police station, reached the spot with a fire brigade team. The bodies were pulled out with help from villagers. Police sent them to a mortuary at a govt hospital in Mandikhera.
