Allegations of dowry harassment have been levelled against senior BJD MLA Shashi Bhusan Behera and his family members in Odisha.
Behera’s daughter-in-law Ronali has lodged a complaint against the Kendrapara MLA and his family members at Banki police station. Though the complaint was filed on March 3 this year, the matter came to limelight when Ronali narrated her story before the media on Tuesday.
In her complaint, Ronali alleged that her in-laws are demanding Rs 40 lakh and giving mental & physical torture.
Ronali had married Behera’s son Satyaprakash on March 3, 2021.
“I have been there with my in-laws’ family for five months. Just 10 to 15 days after the marriage, they started torturing me. They were demanding gold jewellery, cash and other goods,” alleged Ronali. She has also accused her husband of having an illicit affair with another woman.
As their mental and physical torture continued unabated, Ronali said she informed her father about the matter on July 30, 2021. The next day, Ronali’s father took her to parental house, she informed.
Ronali said she was waiting for her husband, who would take her back to his home. However, nothing like her expectation happened. So, she formally lodged a complaint before the Banki police recently.
“Based on the complaint of Ronali Behera, a case has been registered in Banki police station. We have started investigation into the case,” said Gyan Ranjan Mishra, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Banki.
She has levelled allegations against her in-law family members including husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. However, there is no specific allegation against MLA Sashi Behera, Mishra said.
On the other hand, Sashi Behera, who is also an ex-minister, refuted the allegations made by Ronali and said there might have been some personal problems between his son and daughter-in-law.
The allegation of dowry torture is totally false and people of Odisha know him very well, Behera said, adding, “I never promote dowry. Even in the inviting cards of my son’s marriage, I had requested guests not to bring gifts.”
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