Widow assaulted and expelled by in-laws after local poll defeat in UP: police

“For a few months, I was a welcome guest at my in-law’s place and I was asked to contest as an independent for the chairmanship for the Shergarh nagar panchayat. All family members worked round the clock but I could not win and the seat was wrested by the BJP nominee. After my defeat, my in-laws turned violent and started behaving violently,” she said in her complaint.

As per the FIR, her brother-in-law Sartaj tried to choke her to death on Saturday evening and she was attacked with a knife and sticks by her father-in-law Aqeel Khan and five women in the family. When their neighbours tried to come to her rescue, the in-laws threatened them with dire consequences, police said. Later she was again sent back to her parents by the in-laws on Sunday.

“Heena Faridi is an educated woman and has completed a masters in commerce. Her husband Nawab Hasan was a popular leader in Shergarh and had contested the panchayat election twice but could not win. After her husband’s death, her in-laws forced her to live with her parents, but she was taken back into her husband’s family after the post of the chairpersonship was reserved for a backward woman,” said Rishi Gupta, a local BJP leader.

“We have registered the FIR but her statement is yet to be recorded. Our investigation is underway and we hope to ensure justice for her,” Ram Kumar Singh, in charge of the Shergarh police station, told The Indian Express on the phone.