Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Case against teacher husband, 4 kin over dowry harassment of pregnant wife

A serious case of dowry demand and harassment by in-laws has come to light in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Only a few months after her marriage, a 25-year-old woman was allegedly harassed for Rs 5 lakh and a gold chain. She suffered a miscarriage because of the beatings and torment, and also had to go through a life-threatening "brain stroke". Chhavani police station has registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against five in-laws, including her husband, a teacher.

The wedding took place on April 5, 2026, at a lawn in Savangi near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The woman was married to Sumit Ashok Magare, 32, a resident of Nandanvan Colony and a teacher by profession. He holds an M.Sc. and a B.Ed. The wedding was held with pomp and with the consent of both sides, but within four or five days the in-laws' true colours began to show.

It is said that the bride's father had not given the groom a gold chain at the wedding. Over this, mother-in-law Vijaya Magare, father-in-law Ashok Magare, sister-in-law Ashwini Bansode and elder brother-in-law Prashant Magare began taunting the woman and harassing her mentally. Thinking that his daughter's home should remain intact, her father put a gold chain around his son-in-law's neck in the second week of April. Even after this, the in-laws' greed for money did not lessen.

On June 14, 2026, the woman was abused and told to bring Rs 5 lakh from her parents' home to buy a four-wheeler. She was then threatened that the gold chain given was too little and that if she did not bring the money, Sumit would be married off again. Saying this, the mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law beat her badly and threw her to the ground by her hair.

It has also emerged that, using her weight as an excuse, she was forced to do hard labour such as mopping floors, sweeping and washing clothes on a stone. She was then deliberately given little food and kept hungry. This is stated in the complaint.

Her health deteriorated badly because of the continuous beatings and harassment. When she became pregnant, the in-laws deliberately refused to take her to a doctor or get a sonography done. Because of this ill-treatment, she had a miscarriage on August 23, 2026. As her condition became critical, she was admitted to a private hospital in the city.

There, doctors found that she had suffered a "brain stroke" because of deep mental and physical shock. In their report, the doctors said her life could have been in grave danger had the miscarriage not occurred in time.

Despite all this, the in-laws flatly refused to take her back into the house and also abused her parents' family. On the woman's complaint, Chhavani police have registered a serious case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the five relatives, including husband Sumit Magare. Police are investigating the case thoroughly.