Woman files complaint against husband and in-laws for dowry harassment, sexual assault and child abuse

A 27-year-old woman has filed a complaint with Malad police, alleging that her husband and in-laws physically assaulted her, resulting in two miscarriages. The assaults were reportedly related to unfulfilled dowry demands, despite the woman's family having already provided a dowry worth Rs 955,000. At the same time, she accused her husband of sexually abusing her 6-year-old son by exposing him to explicit content and forcing him to perform sexual acts such as forced oral sex, while the mother-in-law threatened the boy with circumcision.

According to the FIR, the incidents took place between July and December 2023. The victim, Raziya (name changed), a resident of Malad, married the accused Moshin Shaikh in July after her first divorce. The accused family members include her husband, mother-in-law Gulnaz Shaikh and father-in-law Yasin Shaikh.

Speaking to Free Press Journal, Raziya said she informed the Shaikh family about her 6-year-old son from her previous marriage before marriage negotiations began and they initially accepted it. During the wedding, Raziya claims, her family spent hundreds of thousands of rupees and even gave dowry as requested. However, after the wedding, she was mocked by her in-laws, who also demanded extra money, Raziya said.

“Immediately after marriage, my husband forced me to have oral sex, which I consistently refused. He also demanded anal sex and sometimes he would come home drunk and force himself on me. When I asked my mother-in-law for help, she advised me to comply with his demands to keep the marriage harmonious,” said Raziya, who added that she suffered two miscarriages due to the emotional and physical trauma inflicted on her by her husband and in-laws.

After her miscarriages, her doctor advised her against sexual activity. However, in her statement to the police, she claimed that her husband continued to abuse her despite this advice.

When she resisted sexual contact, her husband showed her son pornographic videos, according to Raziya, which traumatized the underage boy. This incident was followed by her mother-in-law and her husband – they abused the boy “for fun,” pulled the skin off his penis and threatened circumcision. Raziya said she tried to manage the situation by shouting at them to solve the problem. However, in October 2023, while she was working in the kitchen, she saw her husband enter the bedroom where the underage boy was and lock the door behind him. Despite banging on the door, her husband opened it only after 10 minutes, according to Raziya. The boy sobbed and told the mother that his father had put his private parts in his mouth, which indicated forced oral sex.

After the incident, Raziya took her son and returned home. However, due to her second miscarriage, she was unable to go to the police immediately. On September 2, she filed a complaint against her husband and in-laws.

The Malad police have filed charges against all three persons under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, including Sections 6 (sexual assault by penetration) and 12 (sexual harassment) and the Dowry Act. They also face charges under the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 498A (cruelty by husband or his relatives), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (intentional causing hurt), 500 (defamation), 377 (unnatural sexual intercourse) and 34 (common intention).

Ravindra Adane, senior police inspector of Malad police station, said, “The main accused Moshin is an absconder. We have found that he left the country after the registration of the FIR and is reportedly in Saudi Arabia. We have issued a wanted notice and are trying to trace him. His parents have been arrested under sections that carry a punishment of less than seven years, so we cannot arrest them as per the Supreme Court guidelines. Instead, we have served them summons under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Sanhita, which recently replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The investigation is on and we expect to make progress soon.”