THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Probing the reasons behind the suicide of Dr Shahana, the Medical College police have arraigned Abdul Rasheed, father of the main accused Dr Ruwise -- as an accused in the case for allegedly pressuring his son to ask for dowry. At the same time, with the police having begun a search for them, Rasheed and his family have absconded.
The police booked Rasheed, a government contractor after Shahana’s mother stated that Ruwise’s father and relatives had demanded a dowry. “We have arraigned Abdul Rasheed as an accused in the case as the preliminary probe revealed his clear involvement in putting pressure on Ruwise as well as the relatives of Shahana. Efforts are on to trace him,” said Inspector P Harilal.
Ruwise, charged with abetting Shahana’s suicide, was arrested from Karunagappally on Thursday. A resident of Sakthikulangara, he has also been charged under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961. The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court will consider the police’s petition seeking his custody for interrogation and Ruwise’s bail petition on Monday.
According to the remand report, Shahana’s suicide note said Ruwise cheated her by asking for a dowry. The report termed Ruwise the “spokesperson” of a social evil. The report also said Shahana had written about Ruwise on the reverse side of an outpatient ticket, which was her suicide note. In it, Shahana said that she would not be able to give 150 sovereigns of gold and 15 acres of land and was ending her life because of their (Ruwise and his relatives) desire for dowry and that he was demanding so much wealth for his sister.
If convicted, the Kerala University of Health Sciences could cancel his MBBS degree. According to Shahana’s mother and sister, Ruwise allegedly backed out after her family failed to meet his dowry demands. Ruwise’s family allegedly sought 150 sovereigns of gold, 15 acres of land and a BMW car.