Suspicious death of young woman sparks protests

Chennai, May 7 (UNI) Tension prevailed in the T P Chathiram area of the city following the death of a young woman under suspicious circumstances, as her relatives laid siege to the police station, demanding the immediate arrest of her in-laws.

Police said Priya (23), wife of Harish Nataraj working as a Manager in a car company, died at a private hospital here yesterday with burn injuries. While Nataraj's family claimed that Priya had committed suicide, her parents complained that their daughter was murdered by Nataraj and his family members over dowry.

Despite repeated requests from Priya's parents, police did not look into the complaint and attempted to close the file as a suicide case. Protesting against this, Priya's parents and relatives gathered in large numbers and laid siege to the police station.

In his complaint, Priya's father Suryanathan said Nataraj's family had been harassing his daughter for the last few days, demanding more dowry and his house in the city, worth several crores. On Saturday, Priya was not allowed to visit him, beaten up and locked in a room. He had received a phone call from Nataraj's house yesterday, stating that Priya was admitted to a private hospital, where he was told that his daughter was brought dead.

Following the agitation, police arrested Nataraj and registered cases against his family members -- Nataraj, Usha Nataraj, Arun, Vicky, Suresh and Hema.

Police sent the body to the Kilpauk Medical College hospital here for post-mortem.

UNI