Barsa Swony Choudhary

Barsa Swony Choudhary

My husband, Rajashree Mohanty, has ignored me since Day One. Just four days after our marriage, he left for Bhubaneswar and didn’t come home for a long time without citing any reason. I could understand that he was involved in extra-marital relationship with several girls he knew before marriage. One person from Amarda Road used to help him in this regard. When I protested against my husband’s illicit relationships, he would hurl abuses at me.

Subsequently, he and others in his family, including my father-in-law (Raghunath Mohanty), mother-in-law (Pritilata Mohanty), sister-in-law (Rupashree Madhual) and bother-in-law (Suvendu Madhual) began torturing me. My husband and mother-in-law treated me the worst. They assaulted me physically and it got only worse by the day.

On several occasions, they would taunt me for not bringing in dowry according to their demands. Later, they insisted that I should get a Scorpio and Rs 25 lakh in cash. When I informed my father about these things, he was shell-shocked. Later, my father and I intimated the matter to my father-in-law at his Bhubaneswar residence, but he reacted in an indifferent manner.

“What my son, wife, daughter and son-in-law are asking from you is right. If you cannot meet their demands, you are not allowed to stay in our house,” was his reply. However, with the intervention of relatives, the matter was temporarily resolved. After a few days, they started treating me like a servant. I was given food, a place to sleep and other bare necessities, but no respect. I am an educated girl, a BTech graduate, and such behaviour was just unbearable.

On February 24, they all tortured me physically and attempted to kill me by pouring kerosene on me. I escaped to my parents’ place two days ago. Three persons came on a motorcycle (without a number plate) to kidnap me when I was alone at home, but they fled as soon as my uncle came.

I have gone through enough and just hope that I get justice.