A distressing CCTV footage of a retired Madras High Court judge Nooty Ramamohana Rao, his wife and son torturing their daughter-in-law Sindhu Sharma has recently gone viral on social media.
In the CCTV footage, initially, the family can be seen arguing which soon turns violent after the younger man, reportedly Nooty Ramamohana's Rao's son, violently pushes a woman, his wife Sindhu Sharma, and hits her.
As Sindhu Sharma gets up to retaliate, the older man, reportedly retired Madras HC judge Nooty Ramamohana Rao, tries to stop her by grabbing her arm and pushes her back on the couch. Meanwhile, Sindhu Sharma's daughter is seen clutching to her mother's leg in the video.
Subsequently, another woman enters the room through the main door and they drag Sindhu Sharma onto the floor, and all the while the toddler watches her mother being thrashed, helpless and confused. After some time another child, Sindhu's elder daughter, comes to the room but is sent back inside by her father.
On April 27, 2019, Sindhu Sharma has filed a complaint in Hyderabad police alleging physical and mental torture by her husband and in-laws over demand of dowry. The CCTV footage released recently strongly strengthens Sindhu Sharma’s claims.
"They were all hitting me. Later, even the house help joined in. I was severely injured and they had to rush me to Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills. In the car too, they verbally and physically attacked me. I had collapsed after the attack and they had to carry me on a stretcher," a report by The News Minute quoted Sindhu Sharma.
"My mother-in-law kept yelling that I am mad and I needed sedatives. My clothes had been torn and I asked them to give me something to cover my body, they put a bed sheet on me," the report further quoted Sindhu.
The night of the incident, Apollo Hospital registered a medico-legal case stating that Sindhu had scratches over the left side of her breast, abrasions over her upper lip, and bruises over her right shoulder and her right forearm.
Police Action
A case has been registered against the former judge, his wife, son and their domestic help at the Central Crime Station (CCS) in Hyderabad on April 26, 2019. The case was filed under Sections 498A (cruelty by husband and relatives), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
"The victim has not shared the video with the police. We in the past have also requested her to share photographs/videos related to the case but she refused. Our investigating officer today again asked her to share the videos. We are awaiting a response," Joint Commissioner of Police, CCS, said.
"We have issued notices under Section 41A [arrest without a warrant] of the Code of Criminal Procedure [CRPC] to the accused. The case is under investigation, witnesses have been examined," the police officer added.
(With inputs from agencies)
