A 26-year-old woman was
set ablaze allegedly by her in-laws for dowry at Chahata village in Jajpur district, the police said today.
The victim, identified as Suchismita Nayak, died of burns on Tuesday, they said.
The body was sent for post mortem.
"We have registered a case and investigating into the matter. No one has been arrested as all her in-laws have fled from the village soon after the incident," Jajpur SP A K Sahu said.
A case of dowry death has been registered against the in-laws on the basis of complaint filed by the woman's father on Tuesday night, the SP said.
Surendra Kumar Rout in his FIR with police alleged that his daughter Suchismita got married to Prasant Nayak of Chahata three years ago.
As per the demand, cash of Rs 2.2 lakh, 250 grams of gold ornament and other household articles were given to the groom's family as dowry during the marriage, it said.
Prasant and his family members were not satisfied with the dowry given at the time of marriage and they started harassing and torturing her demanding another Rs 2 lakh.
Suchismita's father claimed in the FIR that he complied with her daughter's in-laws demand and paid Rs 2 lakh in four instalments in one and half years, police said.
But, Suchismita's in-laws again started torturing her demanding another Rs 2 lakh as dowry after former gave birth to a daughter. Suchismita's in-laws were given Rs 1 lakh in cash on the 21st day ceremony of the grand daughter held in May last year, Rout stated in his FIR.
He said the family continued to harass and torture her repeatedly over dowry demanding 1 lakh cash.
"On Tuesday at about 4 pm we got a telephone call from my daughter's in-law family in which we were asked to come to latter's house at Chahata. On reaching, we found my daughter's in-law house was locked from outside," Rout stated in his FIR.
On being informed by a neighbour, we reached the local government hospital at Dharmasala and found body of my daughter which was lying on the hospital verandah. The body was packed with a sack and none of her in-laws were present.
"Her in-laws set her on fire and then dumped her body on hospital verandah to give it a colour of suicide," the FIR stated.
