Bride rejects dowry shark

Bride rejects dowry shark

OUR LEGAL REPORTER

Calcutta, March 24: The high court today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a schoolteacher whose dowry demands went up as the wedding approached after the bride-to-be said she wouldn't accept him as her husband. Sagar Das, 37, had asked for an extra Rs 1 lakh two days before marriage. Mita Porey told the court she was convinced that he was after her father's money. Police can now arrest Sagar, against whom Mita's father Jugal Kishore had lodged a complaint in Ghatal, West Midnapore. Immediately after the February 25 marriage was fixed, Sagar had demanded Rs 51,000. "Jugal Kishore paid the money and promised to gift furniture and jewellery worth Rs 1.5 lakh to his daughter," said Pinaki Bhattacharya, the counsel appearing for the state. On February 23, the primary school teacher's mother told Jugal Kishore that her son wanted Rs 1 lakh more before the wedding. The furniture and jewellery were ready and invitation cards had been sent but the Dases cancelled the wedding. The father of the bride went to the police on March 1 and Sagar prayed for anticipatory bail in the high court. Before the division bench of Justices D.P. Sengupta and P.K. Deb, Sagar's lawyer said his client was ready to withdraw the demand for Rs 1 lakh and marry Mita if his petition was granted. "Can't we try and find an amicable solution to the problem?" lawyer Sekhar Basu asked. Mita stood up, pointed a finger at Sagar and said: "I don't want to marry him."