The bodies of three sisters, married to three brothers, and their two children were found in a well in Jaipur district’s Dudu town on Saturday, with the women’s family members alleging that they were being harassed by their in-laws.
The deceased were identified as sisters Kalu Devi, 27, Mamta Meena, 23, and Kamlesh Meena, 20. One of the children, Harshit, was four years old and the other was less than a month old. Two of the women were pregnant at the time of their death.
The women’s father alleged in his complaint lodged with the police that his daughters were harassed by their husbands and in-laws for dowry. A missing persons report was initially lodged at Dudu police station when the women went missing and the first information report was registered on Thursday.
The family members, who put up missing posters at various public places in the town, were constantly searching for them. The FIR stated that the three sisters might have been killed in a pre-planned manner, as the youngest among them, Kamlesh, had called up her father saying they were being beaten up and were fearing for their lives.
Civil rights groups here have demanded a fair investigation into the matter and an immediate arrest of the husbands and in-laws of the deceased. People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)-Rajasthan president Kavita Srivastava said the horrific incident involved the loss of seven lives, as two of the women had died along with their unborn children.
The PUCL and other groups demanded that the case be transferred from the local police and handed over to CID-Crime Branch, in addition to action against the police officials who did not trace the women despite getting the complaint. Besides, Section 302 (murder) or 304-B (dowry death) of Indian Penal Code should be added to the FIR, Ms. Srivastava said.
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