Minister Suspends Two Women Cops After Dowry Complainant Says She Was Told to “Adjust” in “A Patriarchal world”

Panchkula woman accuses police of dropping her father-in-law’s name from dowry case despite Rs 6 lakh payment; minister acts within hours of grievance hearing

By NewArc Bureau

Panchkula:

Manisha sat across the table from Haryana minister Krishanlal Panwar on Monday and told him what a woman police officer had said to her during a dowry harassment probe: “This is a patriachal country. Women here have to endure everything.”

That one line was enough. Within minutes of hearing it at a grievance committee meeting in Panchkula, Panwar ordered the immediate suspension of the SHO and an ASI of the Women Police Station.

The minister’s anger did not stop there. He also flagged a notice the police had sent to the complainant’s key witness, warning him of “strict action” if he failed to appear for counselling. When ACP Ram Kumar admitted, under the minister’s questioning, that the language of the notice was inappropriate, Panwar cited it as another reason for the suspensions.

A marriage, a plot of land, and Rs 6 lakh

Manisha, who holds an MCom and a BEd and has qualified for a PhD, married Bhupesh, a Union Bank of India manager from Jagadhri, in 2023. She alleges the trouble began the very next day, when her mother-in-law taunted her for bringing nothing into the marriage.

The demands escalated when the family wanted to buy a plot, Manisha said. She was asked to get Rs 6 lakh from her father. When she raised the issue with her own father, he travelled to Panchkula and handed the money directly to her father-in-law, Satender, a sub-inspector posted at the Yamunanagar CIA.

Days later, she alleges, her mother-in-law asked for another Rs 10 lakh. When her father refused, she says she was dropped off at her parents’ home in Panchkula. Her phone numbers were blocked soon after, and a divorce case was filed against her. When she went looking for her husband at his bank branch, the police were called on her.

Her father, Suresh Kumar, said 85 people from the groom’s side had attended the engagement alone, each given Rs 500 in shagun money, and that 265 guests were honoured at the wedding — yet his daughter was later taunted over something as small as a pressure cooker. He also alleged demands for gold items for the groom’s brother, mother, and Manisha’s own husband.

Why the case fell apart, in her telling

Manisha’s complaint at the Women Police Station named her father-in-law, but she alleges the investigating officer, Inspector Rajesh Kumari, dropped his name from the case altogether, along with her mother-in-law’s, despite the Rs 6 lakh payment and an audio recording she says she handed over as evidence.

When she complained against the inspector to the DCP and ACP, the case was passed to ASI Kavita — who, Manisha alleges, responded with the “man’s country” remark instead of acting on the complaint. After she objected, the case moved again, this time to SI Neha Sindhu, who she says told her she could not alter a senior officer’s report even after being shown the evidence.

DCP Aditi asked the minister to let the investigation conclude before taking disciplinary action. Panwar was not persuaded. Officers needed to be taught the law, he said, ordering both the SHO and the ASI suspended with immediate effect and their headquarters fixed at Bhondsi — adding that they could be reinstated if the inquiry cleared them.