Strangled, kicked: Another Kerala woman found dead in UAE, family alleges dowry harassment

Mangalore Today News Network

Kollam, July 21, 2025: The Kollam Police in Kerala have registered a case of murder under the Dowry Prohibition Act against a man after his wife was found dead in her flat in the United Arab Emirates after alleged dowry-related harassment.

According to the woman’s family, her husband physically and mentally tortured her in the name of dowry. Her body was found on the morning of July 19.

In a complaint, the woman’s mother alleged that her daughter, Athulya, was physically and mentally assaulted by her husband, who stated that the dowry they got during the marriage in 2014 was insufficient.

A First Information Report (FIR) in the case mentioned that Athulya was given a two-wheeler and gold as dowry during her marriage with Satheesh.

The deceased’s mother also alleged that she was strangled, kicked in the stomach, and her head was hit by a plate, resulting in her death between July 18 and 19.

Subsequently, a case was registered under Sections 85, 115(2),118(1),103(1) and under Section 4,3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, against Satheesh, the husband of the woman.

Athulya and Satheesh are natives of Kollam.

In a statement, Athulya’s father, Rajasekharan, said he did not believe his daughter died by suicide, and called her death “mysterious".

“I don’t believe that my daughter will die by suicide. She shares a very intimate relationship with her daughter. Her death is mysterious," the woman’s father said.

“We have to find out what exactly happened to her. He (the woman’s husband) is an alcoholic. He gets violent always," the woman’s father alleged.

“She was bearing all the torture that she was subjected to on a daily basis. She suffered it all for her daughter. Earlier also, such issues had happened. A case was also filed with the police. We want to know what exactly happened," he added.

In another similar case, a woman from Kerala, living in Dubai’s Sharjah with her husband and in-laws, left a suicide note, which was recovered from her Facebook account. 

The woman, Vipanchika (32), had claimed that her husband and other in-laws had been subjecting her to mental and physical abuse over dowry demands.