RAUTAHAT, JULY 1
Bodies of a woman and her daughter were found in Pataura, Ward No 4 of Maulapur Rural Municipality, Rautahat district today morning. The deceased have been identified as Kabita Devi, 24, and her two-year-old daughter Aruhi.
According to the District Police Office in Rautahat, Kabita's body was found under the stairs outside, while her daughter Aruhi was found hanging from a ceiling fan.
District Police Office DSP and Spokesperson Uma Shankar Prasad Yadav reported that following the incident, Kabita's husband Dhirendra Shah and father-in-law, Nagendra Shah are on the run. As part of the investigation, police have taken Kabita's mother-in-law and her sister-in-law in police custody. The maternal family of Kabita has accused her in-laws of murdering her over dowry-related issues.
Kabita hails from Mithuawa village in Madhav Narayan Rural Municipality of the same district. Upon receiving news of the tragedy, Kabita's father Bijay Shankar Shah rushed to her home. He expressed deep sorrow, mentioning that he was denied immediate access to see his daughter and granddaughter's bodies. According to him, conflict over dowry was a recurring issue between his daughter and son-in-law.
He said, "Kabita used to share that her spouse, Dhirendra, repeatedly demanded a bed, gold ring, cash, and gold chain as dowry." The police are recording statements from witnesses and gathering evidence related to the incident.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
