New Delhi: An advocate practising at Saket courts has been arrested along with his father, a jeweller, in a dowry death case after his 29-year-old wife was found dead at their residence in southwest Delhi’s Mahavir Enclave Monday.The accused have been identified as Harshal Varma and his father, Dinesh Kumar Varma, who runs a jewellery shop in RK Puram. Simran Varma, an MA in economics, was a teacher and had taken a break after the wedding on Feb 10. Her family has claimed that she was two months pregnant and police are awaiting the postmortem report to confirm it.“We brought our daughter back home two-three times after she complained of harassment by her in-laws, but they would come and take her back, assuring us every time that she won’t be troubled again. We lost our daughter because of their fake assurances,” Simran’s father, Deepak Varma, said. She also came home a few days before her death, but Harshal took her back again, he added.Simran’s family alleged that the demands of her in-laws ranged from a car and money to a gold chain for Harshal’s maternal grandmother. “We never thought of filing a police complaint because we believed the matter could be resolved amicably,” Deepak said. “But the demands never stopped. We gave them Rs 50,000 multiple times because they were so persistent. Once his maternal grandmother came to our house and asked why she was not given a gold chain during the festivities,” he added.“Simran was being constantly physically assaulted over these demands and we had noticed bruises on her body. Harshal was intoxicated when he came to take her back on the last occasion,” said Deepak.Simran had confided in her younger brother about the alleged abuse around five days before her death, the family claimed, adding that she had planned to discuss the matter with her parents during Rakhi.“Police found Simran lying on a bed after being brought down from the hanging position. Harshal’s maternal aunt and grandmother were also there. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead,” an officer said. A case has been registered under sections 80 (dowry death) and 3(5) (common intention) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
