Rues 24-year-old software engineer who slapped a dowry harassment case against her husband, whom she had married a year and a half ago against her parents' wishes

THE 28-year-old logistics department head of a private power firm was arrested by the Borivli police yesterday after his wife, a software engineer, registered a dowry harassment complaint against him and his family.


Denil Shah with his wife Deepika

The arrested accused has been identified as Denil Shah, while his mother Harsha (56), sister Phorum Mehta (25) and brother-in-law Ankit (28) are absconding.

According to Senior Inspector Bhagwan Chate of the Borivli police, Deepika (24) approached them after her in-laws kicked her out of the house because she refused to ask her father for Rs 5 lakh.

Chate said Deepika had married Shah in October, 2010 and, barely two months after their wedding, he asked Deepika to get Rs 5 lakh from her father so that they could buy a house.
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When Deepika refused, Shah and his family allegedly began torturing her. She was beaten up and kicked out of the house by them in April.
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"After the April incident, Shah started sending out e-mails to Deepika, pleading that she come back. He even sent out mails to her friends and family, requesting them to help find Deepika," said Chate.

Deepika approached the police in April, but went back to her in-laws without registering a complaint.

However, when the torture continued, Deepika registered an FIR on May 26. Shah was arrested under Section 498-A (Cruelty by husband or his relatives) of the IPC.

Secret marriage
In her statement to the police, Deepika said that their marriage was arranged by their families but her family had decided to call of the wedding after hearing of Shah's affair with another woman.

Shah, however, managed to convince Deepika to marry him after meeting her several times. They got married in court without their parents' knowledge.

"I should have listened to my parents when they had warned me against Denil," Deepika said in her statement.