Balasore, March 1: The Human Rights Protection Cell today filed charge sheet in the dowry torture case involving former law minister Raghunath Mohanty and four members of his family in sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) court here.
Assistant public prosecutor of the court, Arun Behera said: “The charge sheet has been filed today in the court. The charges have been framed against all five accused under various sections of the IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act.”
Barsa Swony Chaudhury said: “Filing of the charge sheet is the initial step of my legal fight. I would pursue the case seriously. I have full faith in the judiciary.”
Barsa’s father Kishor Kumar Chaudhary said: “The investigating wing took pretty long time in filing the charge sheet. Had chief minister Naveen Patnaik not intervened, it could have been delayed more. We had met him last week and within no time security was provided to my daughter, and now, the charge sheet is filed.”
Chaudhury said they had been getting threat calls. Besides, they couldn’t get the dowry articles, including gold and cash, back.
The charge sheet came just two weeks short of a year after Mohanty’s daughter in-law, Barsa, 23, had lodged the complaint. On March 14 night last year, Town police registered the case based on Barsa’s complaint, and later, it was handed over to the cell. Following the complaint, Mohanty had to resign from office the next day.
Besides the dowry torture case, Barsa has also filed two other cases in other courts of Balasore — one being the maintenance case in the family court and the other one in the SDJM court under the Domestic Violence Act.
The aggrieved, in her complaint, mentioned the names of her husband Rajashree, her father in-law Mohanty, mother in-law Pritilata, sister in-law Rupashree Madhual and brother in-law Suvendu Madhual.
Earlier, the police had arrested Rajashree from Choudwar, Mohanty and Pritilata from Shalimar of Bengal. Later, they all obtained bail after spending some days in jail. On the other hand, Rupashree and Suvendu obtained anticipatory bail from Orissa High Court.
