Woman's in-laws claim suicide, kin allege murder

Lucknow: A 24-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her in-laws' residence in Triveninagar, under the jurisdiction of Aliganj police station , on Tuesday. The in-laws claimed it was a case of suicide, while her family alleged she was murdered over dowry demands.

Preeti Gautam was married for less than a year. According to her father, Ramswaroop, resident of Sitapur, she was subjected to physical assault before being killed. "She was beaten to death and hanged to make it look like suicide," he told police.

A case was registered under relevant sections of law related to dowry harassment and murder. Lucknow Police said post-mortem was ordered and legal proceedings were underway along with forensic inspection of the scene.

Police took Akshay Gautam, the husband, into custody. The girl's in-laws called on Tuesday morning reporting Preeti had died by suicide. "She was found hanging," , said B N Singh, ACP, Aliganj.