Bhubaneswar: Madhya Pradesh police have registered an FIR against Odisha’s senior BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, his wife and son, after their daughter-in-law accused them of harassment for dowry, an official said in Bhopal on Thursday. Mahtab claimed in Bhubaneswar that his daughter-in-law had only stayed with his son for a few days after the couple were married in 2016, and the case filed in Bhopal is an afterthought.
The official said that his daughter-in-law lodged a complaint at a women’s police station in Bhopal on Tuesday, alleging that her family had spent a huge amount on her wedding and that she was being harassed for dowry. The MP and members of his family have been charged under various sections of the IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act. ‘We have registered the FIR and started an investigation into the case,’ the official said.
Mr. Mahtab, a six-time Lok Sabha member from Cuttack and a senior leader of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), said he has yet to be notified by the police or by the court. ‘I do not know the nature of the allegation against me and my family. I came to know about it from the media,’ he told PTI.
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In 2018, after a reconciliation attempt failed, a separation case has been filed in the Patiala House Court in New Delhi. In response to a question about dowry harassment, he responded, ‘Such accusations are not made after five years of marriage. Had this been the case, the alleged victim might have lodged a complaint immediately.’
‘The case which has been made at the police station two days ago could be an afterthought. It is not proper for me to say anything now on the merit of the case as it is under investigation. My life is an open book,’ he said.
According to the veteran Parliamentarian, the dispute is purely matrimonial and a matter between two individuals. In response to a question about a political conspiracy against him, he refused to say anything. ‘BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is quite aware of the dispute between my son and the daughter-in-law,’ Mr. Mahtab said.
The MP, his wife, and son have been charged with cruelty, criminal intimidation, and acts carried out by several people in furtherance of a common goal, and provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
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