3 years into marriage a love jihad victim has taken her life under suspicious circumstances in Tamil Nadu. The Hindu woman’s father has alleged that the Muslim in-laws harassed her for dowry and could have murdered her.
Arundhati, the elder daughter of Murugan from Chennai, had fallen in love with her college mate Shahid Ibrahim. She converted to Islam and married him against her parents’ wishes 3 years ago. In 2020 she gave birth to a girl child. Her father has alleged that since then, she has been facing harassment from her in-laws.
Soon after she gave birth Arunthathi was made to do the household chores and tortured by her husband and in-laws, who demanded dowry. Unable to bear his daughter facing harassment, Murugan gave 5 sovereign gold initially. But the Muslim family wasn’t satisfied with it and mounted harassment.
On June 22, Arunthathi escaped their clutches to reach out to her father and told him about the continuing harassment. When Shahid and his family demanded to send Arunthathi back, Murugan refused to do so as the latter wasn’t keen on returning. Shahid reportedly filed a complaint on Murugan in this regard. But later, he withdrew it, which changed Murugan’s mind, and he sent his daughter back.
On July 3, Shahid’s sister called Murugan and told him that his daughter had jumped from the third storey of their house. Murugan went to see his daughter at Kilpauk Government Hospital, where she was declared dead. He noticed injuries on her body and a lot of blood stains on the terrace floor from where she jumped. He has filed a complaint with the police seeking to investigate the murder angle as he suspects that Shahid and his family could have killed his daughter.
The Muslim family was reportedly upset that Aruntathi brought nothing while her sister was married off with a lot of dowry. As she died 3 years into the marriage, the Revenue Divisional Officer of the region is investigating the case. Meanwhile, Shahid has been arrested by the police.
