The Chavara Police on Sunday booked a Kollam man and his parents for dowry harassment based on a complaint filed by his wife, who alleged that she was subjected to physical and verbal harassment over claims that she had brought insufficient dowry.

The accused have been identified as Nandu Dinesh, a native of Parimanam, his father Dinesh and mother Jagadamma.

The police have registered a case under Sections 85, 115(2), 118(1), 351(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

According to the FIR, Nandu married the complainant on June 6, after which the couple lived together at his house. Soon after the marriage, all three accused allegedly began mentally harassing the woman, claiming that she had brought insufficient dowry.

Even after Nandu moved to Saudi Arabia, he allegedly continued the harassment through video calls, prompting the woman to return to her home. However, Dinesh and Jagadamma allegedly brought her back to their house, following which Nandu took her to Saudi Arabia to live with him.

While living there, Nandu allegedly physically assaulted her with household articles, including a cooker and a laptop charger, causing injuries to her body.

The FIR also states that he threatened to kill her by holding a knife to her neck and forced her to say that she had engaged in sexual relationships with multiple men before and after her marriage, had recorded the encounters and uploaded them to pornographic websites, and wanted to work in a sex racket after separating from her husband, Nandu. After recording her statements, Nandu allegedly shared the audio with members of both their families.

According to the Chavara Police, the woman was sent back to Kerala at the request of Nandu's parents. "We suspect that his parents were shocked by the audio clip he shared and therefore asked that she be sent back," an officer told Onmanorama.

After arriving in Kerala, she was admitted to the District Hospital in Kollam, where she is currently undergoing treatment. After hospital authorities and the woman's parents informed the police, officers arrived at the hospital and recorded her statement.

The police said that Nandu is still in Saudi Arabia and that an investigation into the matter is underway.