Kollam: The husband of a young woman, Vismaya, who killed herself over alleged dowry harassment has been taken into police custody.  

S Kiran Kumar, who was nabbed by the police on Monday evening, is an employee of the Motor Vehicles Department of the Kerala  government. Kiran's arrest was registered on Tuesday morning. He has been booked under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act and Dowry Prohibition Act too. 

His wife 24-year-old S Vismaya was found hanging inside the bathroom of the couple's house at Sasthamkotta in Kerala's Kollam district on Monday morning.

Vismaya, a native of Kaithode in Kollam, had sent a series of WhatsApp messages to her relatives on Sunday over the alleged harassment she was subjected to by her husband and mother-in-law over dowry. She had also sent photos of the injuries due to the assault. 

In her WhatsApp chat, which her family shared with the media, Vismaya alleged that her husband did not like the car gifted by her father as dowry and used to beat her over that.

The woman had also alleged that she was dragged by her hair and stamped on the face over the issue.

"He used to verbally abuse my father and often said he deserved more dowry as per his stature but got only very little," the  woman's chat transcripts state.

Vismaya's father Thrivikraman Nair said that the family had given 100 sovereigns of gold and over one acre land besides a car worth Rs 10 lakh as dowry to Kumar during their wedding last year.

"But, he did not like the car and wanted Rs 10 lakh as cash instead. As I said it was not possible, he used to torture my daughter. He had beaten Vismaya in front of us after coming to our home during one midnight last January," an emotional Nair told a TV channel.

My daughter would not have taken this drastic step. I suspect that Kumar might have murdered her, he added. 

Based on the media reports, the Kerala Women's Commission registered a case into the incident on its own and sought a report from the police in this regard.