A 50-year-old man from Alappuzha district was held by the police in connection with his wife’s death, which is now suspected to be a dowry killing.
The police suspect that the accused, Appukuttan, murdered his 42-year-old wife, Hena after continued harassment of demanding more dowry.
Hena was found dead in her house on May 26, which was declared as murder upon further investigation. Hena suffered from bipolar disorder, and Appukuttan, who married her last year, was aware of it.
Hena's father Premkumar said that Appukuttan used to torture Hena demanding dowry. Premkumar said that Appukuttan recently demanded Rs 7 lakh, which the former refused.
Premkumar claimed that assault over it led to Hena’s murder.
The grieving father also said that even though Hena used to tell him about the abuse, she preferred to stay with him, which could be due to his emotional blackmailing.
This murder comes at the heels of a young man being sentenced in a dowry case in Kerala. There have been previous cases of dowry deaths, most sensational of which was a man getting his wife killed through snake bite to inherit her family wealth and claim more dowry.