Woman Burnt in West Bengal's Midnapore By Her In-Laws Because of Dark Complexion

Kolkata, May 29: A 24-year-old woman, Shrabani Maity from West Bengal’s West Midnapore was allegedly burnt by her in-laws on Monday night. The woman’s father Nitai Bera alleged that her husband’s family set her on fire and killed her because of her dark skin. He also alleged her daughter’s in-laws for killing her because she gave birth to a girl child. Shrabani belonged to Chakmakrampur village in the Kharagpur area. She died of burn injuries at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital.

Shrabani’s husband Saurabh Maity and his mother Sumitra Maity have been detained by police after her family lodged a complaint. “We received a complaint that the woman was tortured and killed because of her dark complexion. We have started an investigation,” reported Hindustan Times quoting Y Raghubanshi, Kharagpur’s additional superintendent of police as saying.

Bera alleged her in-laws poured kerosene on her to burn her. He told Hindustan Times that though it was an arranged marriage and his daughter was tortured because of her complexion. He also said that they had given huge dowry, but Shrabani was beaten regularly to get more money. Her brother also blamed her in-laws for killing him because of her skin colour.

Shrabani also gave birth to a girl one and half months ago. Her family believed that giving birth to a girl child could also be a reason for her killing. According to a report published in Hindustan Times, Sharbani’s neighbours found her lying inside her house with severe burn injuries on Monday afternoon. She was first taken to a hospital in Kharagpur, but later she was shifted to Midnapore Medical College Hospital. She died around 7.30 pm on Monday

According to a data of The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2016, West Bengal recorded 59.36% of cases of cruelty by a husband or his family to wives. The total of 32,513 cases of crime against women registered was in the state. According to NRCB, West Bengal also recorded the highest number of cases of domestic violence against women in 2016. In 2016 a total of 1,10,378 cases were such cases were registered across the country, out of which 19,302 cases were recorded in West Bengal. Rajasthan was second with 13,811 cases. According to the report, the fourth highest number of deaths due to dowry were recorded in West Bengal in 2016. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with the highest number of deaths because of dowry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2018 04:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).