Bhubaneswar, Nov. 23: A Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent and his parents were arrested for allegedly torturing 27-year-old Suni Sahu for dowry in Paikanagar area of the city.

In a complaint lodged on Tuesday with Mahila police station, Suni alleged that her husband Benudhara Sahu and in-laws Sudarshana Sahu and Bimala Sahu had been torturing her for dowry.

Following the complaint, Benudhara, Sudarshana and Bimala were arrested. The wife of Benudhara’s elder brother was also arrested. All four were sent to Jharapada jail after their bail pleas were rejected by a local court.

Before the accused were forwarded to court, their relatives and friends staged a protest outside the police station. They said the four had been falsely implicated by Suni as they opposed some of her ‘activities’.

A mother of two, Suni had married Benudhar about eight years ago. “They used to beat me for the slightest of faults. Even recently they had tortured me when I went to my father’s house,” she said in her complaint. Benudhara’s relatives, however, accused Suni of being in relationship with other men. “The couple were not on the best of terms for the last few years,” said Shusant, one of Benudhara’s relatives.

He said as Suni had refused to restrain herself despite repeated warnings, Benudhara moved the family court for divorce two months ago.

A police officer said: “We held a counselling session to settle the matter amicably. When that failed, we had to arrest the accused.”