Murder or Natural death: what is the truth behind Anantnag incident?

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag, Feb 02:Anantnag District, South Kashmir, was rocked by the incident of Harnag Anantnag, where the family members of a 27-year-old deceased woman claimed that their daughter was murdered by her in-laws in the Harnag area of the district Anantnag.

The incident took place on Wednesday 18 January in Harnag area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag District, which is  about 4 kms from the main town of Anantnag.

According to the family members of the deceased woman,  they received a phone call from their daughters in-laws on Wednesday morning that their daughter was ill and is admitted in GMC Anantnag. ‘When we reached GMC Anantnag, we found that she was lying in the shroud, said the family members of the deceased woman,’ in a video clip which went viral on social media. They allege that her in-laws killed their daughter on dowry issues as they demanded money and gold from her day in and day out. The family members of the deceased lady further complained that their daughter had been ill-treated  by her in-laws.

The relationship between both husband and wife was not good for the last one year said sister of the deceased woman in a video clip which also went viral on social media. In another video clip, a friend of the victim alleged that the husband of the deceased woman told his wife to send their 6-year-old child home, if she was not willing to come home, the friend said. They added that there have been contradictory statements made by the in-laws of the deceased lady.

In the presence of the SHO, the husband of the deceased lady claimed ,that deceased was sleeping in her  mother-in-law’s room , she didn’t wake up at all and had died during the night. Then in another statement, husband, and his mother claimed that deceased served them tea etc and then suddenly fell down and died.

In defense, the in-laws of the deceased woman said their daughter-in-law had died of cardiac arrest and therefore not killed. They refute all the allegations of the family members of the deceased woman .

In a video clip, the family members of the in-laws requested the media to listen to both sides of families, so that people know both versions.

The story broke on social media on Wednesday, 18 January. Several social media platforms carried the story without waiting for any official confirmation or quote. The social media platforms were in a hurry to gain likes and shares for boosting their pages, which left both families and the Anantnag District residents in a state of limbo. Not even a single page admin had written an official version.

Meanwhile, Anantnag district has seen a spike in domestic violence from the last two years, according to an official working at the one-stop center in the district. Police have lodged an FIR No 21/22 under section 304 and are conducting an investigation. Official said. Before this case, at least 250 above cases of domestic violence were registered in District Anantnag, of which some were resolved and some are still pending, the official said.

The objective of the One-Stop Centres (OSC) is to support women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces, within the family, community and at the workplace. Women facing physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse, irrespective of age, class, caste, education status, marital status, race and culture will be facilitated with support and redressal.

Aggrieved women facing any kind of violence due to attempted sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, honour related crimes, acid attacks or witch-hunting who have reached out or been referred to the OSC will be provided with specialized services. To facilitate immediate, emergency and non- emergency access to a range of services including medical, legal, psychological and counseling support under one roof to fight against any forms of violence against women.

However, a police official told “Arising State” that the investigation is underway, so both families should wait until the forensic report arrives, he said.