Sumani and Jaiveer got married in April last year in Uttar Pradesh's holy city of Mathura. It was an arranged marriage and interestingly, Sumani's sister Pushpa was also married on the same day with Jaiveer's brother Yahsveer.
Six months later, things turned ugly when Sumani's mother-in-law started accusing her of adultery. She decided, on the advice of a tantric, to take her "agni-pariksha" - an ancient ritual of trial by fire - and allegedly put a burning log of firewood on her palms.
Showing her badly burnt hands, Sumani, said, "My in-laws used to thrash me and falsely accuse me of adultery. They also called me a liar." She also alleged that her in-laws used to beat her up and harass her for dowry.
Sharing another chilling incident, she said her husband once cut her hand with a knife in her sleep. He also threatened to kill her, accusing her of cheating on him. At that time, she and her father reported the incident to the police, who she said, "settled" the matter between the two families.
She has now filed a police complaint against her mother-in-law and six others for burning her hands, physical assault and harassment over dowry.
The police have initiated an investigation.
