Irrigation official, kin booked for defamation

Aurangabad: The Vedantnagar police have booked a senior official with the irrigation department and two women from his family, including his wife, for allegedly harassing a married woman by creating a WhatsApp group and posting her photos and messages against her.

The Mukundwadi police had earlier been booked the man for harassing the 22-year-old woman through the same medium individually.

“The suspect had been warned by police against indulging in such acts but he allegedly started his antics after staying quiet for some time,” said Vedantnagar police.

According to police, the man from Wardha is upset over the woman from Aurangabad city for calling off the marriage with his son at the last moment over alleged dowry demand and marrying another person from Pune.

The woman, who currently lives in Pune with her husband, has stated in her police complaints that she had received a proposal from the accused official’s son, with whom she got engaged.

“The couple then started meeting casually and clicked pictures together. However, due to disagreement over dowry demands, the marriage was called off,” said police.

“Around the same time, the woman received another proposal and she married a man from Pune which did not go down well with the suspect, who termed the act as an insult to his family and allegedly decided to aeach her a lesson and reportedly pledged to ruin her married life,” said police.

Police said that in the latest incident, the official’s family created a WhatsApp group on September 24 and added the in-laws of the woman and shared her pictures that she had taken with her previous fiance. Initially fearing social stigma, the woman’s parents remained quiet, but approached lodged a complaint after the situation became unbearable.

The mother of the complainant woman informed police that the accused and his family have tarnished the image of their daughter. A source informed that perturbed by the frequent harassment by the accused, the woman’s parents even threatened to commit suicide.

Sub-inspector Vikas Khatke of Vedantnagar police station said that a zero FIR has been registered against the accused and offence has been transferred to the Sevagram police station in Wardha district where the suspects hail from.

The accused have been booked on the charges of defamation and committing an act aimed at insulting modesty of woman. They have also been slapped with relevant sections of the IT Act, said police.