Goa BJP leader Anil Hoble booked for harassing daughter-in-law for dowry

Panaji: Senior Goa BJP functionary Anil Hoble was booked on Wednesday along with his wife and son for allegedly harassing his daughter-in-law for dowry, the police said. [caption id=“attachment_2687934” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] An FIR was registered against Hoble, his wife Sandhya, and son Milind by the Women Police here on the basis of a complaint lodged by Mumbai-based Suchitra Shirodkar who alleged that her daughter had been harassed for dowry since her marriage in 2009.   The trio were booked under sections 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, and sections 498 (enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC, an official said. The complainant stated the Hobles had been demanding a huge dowry from her daughter. “Hoble, who is a vice-president of the Goa BJP, called Shirodkar at around 2 am on Wednesday asking her to take away her daughter, following which she and other family members rushed to Goa. After reaching here around 3 pm, they found injury marks on her (Shirodkar’s daughter’s) body,” the official said quoting the complaint. The complainant alleged her daughter sustained injuries because she was severely assaulted by Hoble, Sandhya, and Milind, he said. The complainant has claimed Hoble even threatened to shoot them if they return again with their daughter. The Hobles are residents of Merces area on the outskirts of the city. Police are questioning the trio, the official added. Meanwhile, Hoble’s lawyer Amit Palyekar has refuted the allegations against his client. “It is a domestic matter which will be solved within one or tow days. Hoble and his kin didn’t demand dowry. There is no need for arrest as there is nothing to be recovered from the Hobles,” he said.