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The Appanthirupathi police in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu have registered a case against police constable Bhoopalan and his family members for assaulting his wife over dowry. Bhoopalan is posted at the Appanthirupathi police station, and his father, Senthilkumaran, is a police inspector posted at the Sathur sub-division of the Virudhunagar district.
Two days ago, Bhoopalan assaulted his wife Thangapriya violently, following which she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Madurai’s Government Rajaji Hospital. Meanwhile, an audio clip of a phone conversation believed to be between Bhoopalan and his sister Anita has surfaced on social media, revealing chilling details of his physical violence towards Thangapriya.
The person believed to be Bhoopalan says that he clawed his wife’s mouth because she spoke back to him, and that her entire face looks swollen and different from what it used to be. To this, Anita laughs, asserting that Thangapriya deserves nothing less.
“I became irritated when she spoke back to me, and I clawed her mouth. She screamed out of the pain, and I choked her to avoid the sound. I made her kneel and locked up her legs, and she cannot even walk now,” says Bhoopalan.
“I think she looks like she has been assaulted by ten people. I thrashed her. I was trying to control her like a snake. Like locking a buffalo. That's why I have body pain. My son has also seen the assault and thought we were playing. He joined as well and stopped her from speaking further,” he adds. Chillingly, Anita sounds encouraging of the violence, and she giggles at Bhoopalan’s description of the brutal assault.
“Let her know, if she speaks back again, this would be the consequence,” Anita responds.
According to Bhoopalan’s wife Thangapriya’s complaint, the couple got married in 2017, and have two sons, aged seven and five. Her family says that at the time of the wedding, they gave Bhoopalan 60 sovereigns of gold, a Bullet motorcycle, and other household articles. They allege that despite this, Bhoopalan and his family have been harassing her for more money, including additional gold and a house worth several lakhs of rupees.
Thangapriya, who works as a teacher at a private school, was allegedly harassed not only by Bhoopalan but also by Senthilkumaran, his wife Vijaya, and daughter Anita.
In a separate audio clip of a conversation between Bhoopalan and his mother, Vijaya, about Thangapriya's father, Vijaya says, “You need not invite him for the house warming ceremony. I don’t even want to face him. You should ask him what he has given to your marriage. Despite saying both of his heirs are the same, he limits himself to Rs 50,000 for your marriage. They always say that they will do it later, but have not done it yet.”
Another voice clip of a conversation between Thangapriya and her father-in-law, Senthilkumaran, which happened before the current incident of assault, has surfaced. While Thangapriya tries to tell him that she cannot make repeated demands for money and gold from her parents, Senthilkumaran says there is nothing wrong with it.
“It is a common practice where the couple asks their parents what they will give for a family event. If you refuse to ask your parents, he (Bhoopalan) may ask them directly. Manage and speak to them, if not, Bhoopalan will get angry,” Senthilkumaran says, referring to Bhoopalan’s demand for money and gold for their son’s ear piercing ceremony.
Thangapriya also says that Bhoopalan refuses to take her to the hospital when she is sick. “When I am leaving for my parents’ home to rest, Bhoopalan checks what I am taking, as if I will steal from the house in which we live,” she adds.
Based on the complaint filed by Thangapriya, the Appanthirupathi police have registered a dowry harassment case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Dowry Prohibition Act against Bhoopalan, his parents, and sister.