Kerala: Mother, son sentenced to life imprisonment in Tushara dowry death case

The Kollam Additional Sessions Court on Monday awarded life imprisonment to two accused in the dowry death case of a 28-year-old woman at Pooyapally in Oyoor, Kerala’s Kollam district.

The court found Chandulal (36) and his mother, Geetha Lal, 62, guilty of murdering Tushara, a native of Karunagappally, by starving her to death over dowry demands. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹1 lakh each.

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Lal (66), Chandulal’s father and the third accused in the case, was found dead near the Ithikkara river over a year ago.

According to the police investigation, Thushara was brutally tortured by her husband Chandulal and his family for failing to pay an additional ₹2 lakh that had been demanded as part of the dowry.

Thushara and Chandulal were married in 2013. From the third month of marriage onwards, Thushara and her family were subjected to physical and mental torture by her husband and his family, all in pursuit of more dowry. This prolonged abuse eventually led to Thushara’s tragic death.

Thushara was brought to Kollam District Hospital on March 21, 2019. The frail mother of two was declared “brought dead” by the hospital authorities. However, following suspicions regarding the cause of death, her body was sent to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for autopsy.

The post-mortem revealed the grim extent of the abuse. Thushara weighed just 20 kilograms at the time of her death, and autopsy findings showed multiple injury marks consistent with sustained torture.

The horrific incident, which took place at Pooyapally in Oyoor, shocked the entire state of Kerala and highlighted the continuing menace of dowry-related violence.