The Kerala police on Wednesday, December 6, took Dr EA Ruwais, the former president of Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association (KMPGA), into custody in connection with the death of Dr Shahana, a postgraduate student at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. Ruwais, who was Shahana’s fiance, has been charged with abetment to suicide and violations under the Dowry Prohibition Act. He was taken into custody from his residence in Kollam district. Ironically, Ruwais was taken into custody, just a few days before he was set to address a meeting on ‘Human Rights Violation against Doctors’.
Shahana was found dead in her apartment on December 4 and according to the police, she had died by suicide. The police had said that Shahana had been grappling with emotional turmoil, possibly from alleged dowry demands. Though a note, believed to be her suicide note, lamented that people were only bothered about money, it did not make any mention of the fallout over dowry. Shahana has not mentioned any names either in the note.
However, as per reports Shahana’s mother and sister had testified to the police that Ruwais backed out of the marriage after Shahana told him that her family will not be able to meet his dowry demands.
It was reported that Ruwais and his family had demanded 150 sovereigns of gold, 15 acres of land and a BMW car as dowry.
Soon after the incident came to light, KMPGA issued a statement announcing the removal of Ruwais from the position of president of the association. The statement also expressed the association's commitment to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation and urged everyone to refrain from making premature judgments.
"In the light of ongoing controversy and speculations, KMPGA shall fully cooperate with the probe. The accused office-bearer will be stepping down from the post and all the charges held in KMPGA, until the investigation is completed, for the investigation to move in a transparent manner. KMPGA pledges its support to the victim. We also request everyone to stay away from premature verdicts and smearing when the investigation is on its way," the statement said.
The investigation revealed that Shahana and Ruwais were in a relationship while pursuing their postgraduate studies at the medical college. As per the police, Ruwais proposed marriage to Shahana, and later retracted from the proposal due to her family's refusal to meet increased dowry demands.
Shahana's family had initially agreed to provide 50 sovereigns of gold, properties valued at Rs 50 lakhs, and a car as dowry to Ruwais. However, the family alleged that the prospective groom and his family demanded more dowry, leading to the cancellation of the wedding and causing immense distress to Shahana.