Dowry demandes allegedly began 6 months into the marriage, even though Rs. 1 crore was given at the time of the wedding.
The number of cases involving a young girl marrying an NRI, being harassed for more dowry within a few months post-marriage, and then being abandoned, has been on the rise. Archana, a girl hailing from Hyderabad, faced a similar fate when she married Prem, a resident of Australia.
Archana was married to Prem Kumar last year, after their union was arranged and agreed upon by both parents. Archana's family was allegedly hoodwinked into believing that Prem was a software engineer in Australia, and that he was affluent.
Within 6 months, Prem reportedly demanded for more dowry, even though Rs. 1 crore was given to him at the time of his marriage. This led to Archana being sent back to India to live with his parents. According to Archana's family, 20 days after being troubled at her in-laws' place, the girl was then taken back to Australia, only to be harassed further.
Allegedly, Archana began to face severe neglect at the hands of her husband, and soon Prem filed a case against her and demanded divorce. According to Archana's family, the family also faced harassment at the hands of Prem's father, who had sent out policemen to trouble the family.
Puportedly, miscreants were set upon Archana by her in-laws, when she demanded to see her husband after reaching India with the help of a few friends.
Both families have filed complaints at the local police station. Archana has also appealed to the government for help, to which the home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy responded by ordering the state police authorities to bring those at fault to justice.