Victim enters police station doused with kerosene

Vadodara, Jul 7 (UNI) City police have arrested the father-in-law of a woman for allegedly attempting to rape and murder her for not fulfilling their demand for dowry.

Carrying her 3-month-old baby, Nizama Bano alias Mamata, stormed the Wadi police station last night doused with kerosene to register her complaint against her father-in-law Mohammad Hanif Sheikh and mother-in-law Bilkis.

After preliminary investigation, police arrested the couple on the charges of attempted rape and murder.

The 19-year-old Hindu girl, a resident of Panchvati society, had created a stir in the city a year ago when she eloped with her muslim boyfriend, Mohammad Asif Sheikh, an auto-rickshaw driver, and married him in the court on May 5, 2005.

Following the incident, Mamata's parents severed their relations with their daughter, who was reportedly living in the Sultanpura residence of her in-laws, against their wishes.

Alleging that she was subjected to both mental and physical torture by her in-laws for not bringing dowry, Nizama in her complaint said her mother-in-law tried to set her on fire with kerosene after her father-in-law Mohammad Hanif Sheikh made an abortive attempt to rape her in the kitchen following an altercation over a petty issue yesterday.

Nizama reportedly managed to escape the bid on her life with the timely intervention of her husband.

UNI SS PM MSJ HT1610