Aluva: A day after the police filed the chargesheet in the case relating to the suicide of Mofia Parveen, a 21-year-old law student in Kochi, her father has expressed disappointment and pointed out major omissions.
Mofia's father Dilshad is aghast that the former Aluva inspector C L Sudheer, Mofia's brother-in-law Seyth Muhammed and relative Ansil, who were named in his daughter's suicide note, have not been named in the chargesheet.
The Crime Branch team that probed the case submitted its chargesheet before the Aluva First-Class Magistrate Court on Tuesday, nearly two months after the tragic death.
As per the chargesheet only Mofia's husband Muhammed Suhail, mother-in-law Rukhiya and father-in-law Yusuff have been named as the accused.
The chargesheet also states that Mofia was a victim of domestic violence and harassment for dowry.
"I came to know about the chargesheet only through newspapers this morning. The chargesheet is incomplete. I have decided to move the high court against it once I get a copy of it. I will also file an appeal against granting bail to Mofia's in-lws also," Dilshad said.
Other complaints
Mofia's family is yet to be granted the services of the Victim Liaison Officer, as is the practice. The service of this point of contact need to be granted to the family of the victim/deceased 48 hours after a case is registered.
"I had raised the matter with the superintendent of police. But no action has been taken yet," he said.
Sudheer's objectionable conduct again
Dilshad also claimed suspended police officer Sudheer misbehaved with him recently in the presence of the Assistant Commissioner of Police who was recording his statement based on his complaint.
"Sudheer was also present when the ACP recorded my statement against him (Sudheer). It was Sudheer who prompted several questions to the ACP. I had to object when he repeatedly asked hurtful questions. Then the ACP stopped him from asking such questions. I was called for deposing my statement as part of a department-level inquiry against Sudheer," Dilshad told reporters.
"If this is how he behaves even when he is not in uniform, one can imagine what he would have done when he was in uniform," Dilshad asked.
The case
The victim's husband and in-laws were arrested on November 24 last year and a case registered against them under Sections 304B (dowry death), 498A (dowry harassment), 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The high court had on January 4 granted bail to Mofia's in-laws saying that the allegations against them were vague and confined to demand of dowry. However, it denied bail to her husband saying the allegations against him were very serious.
While the maximum punishment for dowry death is life imprisonment, it is three years' jail term for dowry harassment and 10 years for abetment of suicide.
In her suicide note, Mofia Parveen, the third-year law student, had alleged that the then SHO of Aluva East Police Station had misbehaved with her when she went there with her father to give her statement regarding her complaint of dowry harassment and domestic violence against her husband and in-laws.
The incident had created an uproar in the state and the officer was relieved of his charge and later suspended.
According to Mofia's father, on November 22 last year, he went to the station with his daughter to give her statement and she had made it clear before going there that she did not want her submission to be recorded in her husband's presence.
However, the officer spoke to them in her husband's presence and also spoke inappropriately and rudely to him and his daughter, the father told the media and added that it was the officer's conduct which demoralised her.
After returning home, she was worried whether police would take any action in view of the officer's conduct at the station, Dilshad had claimed, and further said that she hanged herself in her room later that day.