IPS officer, family booked for dowry torture

NAGPUR/AMRAVATI: An IPS officer of Mizoram cadre has been booked on charges of physical torture and violence for dowry by his doctor wife at Amravati. The police officer and his wife, both hailing from Vidarbha, were married two years ago. The woman has also accused her in-laws of harassing her for dowry.

The case comes close on the heels of high-ranking Indian diplomat in the UK, Anil Verma, being accused of bashing his wife Paromita.

According to the complaint filed at Frazerpura police station in Amravati, Milind Dumbre (37), who is currently posted as district superintendent of police at Serchhip in Mizoram, physically and mentally tortured his wife, Shilpa (29). She is the daughter of a professor couple from Amravati and was married to Dumbre on May 21, 2007.

Shilpa is the mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old child. In her police complaint, she noted that her parents spent a lot of money on her marriage and provided gold ornaments and other valuables. But her greedy in-laws were not satisfied and continuously demanded more money.

Dumbre, a 2006 batch IPS officer, hails from Chandrapur district. His family lives in a house behind Kundal Hotel in Chandrapur, where Shilpa also used to stay along with the in-laws. Before getting married she used to work as a medical officer with Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College, Amravati. After marriage, she shifted to Chandrapur and would often visit Mizoram to meet her husband.

"My in-laws and husband used to humiliate me, beat me, burn my skin using hot iron rods to demand dowry money," she said. When she could not bear the torture any more she decided to register a complaint with the police, Shilpa said.

Acting on her complaint, the Amravati police asked the complainant to undergo medical tests. Based on the medical test reports, the police have booked a case against her husband Milind, father-n-law Mahadeo Dumbre, mother-in-law Prema and brother-in-law Dhananjay, who also resides in Chandrapur.

"We have registered a case under various sections of IPC, including one under dowry prevention act. Now we are investigating the case and if necessary, we would send a team to Mizoram to arrest the IPS officer," Amitesh Kumar, commissioner of police (CP), Amravati city, told TOI.