Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 30 Jul: A case of dowry death has been registered in Dehradun after the suspicious death of Srishti Kandari, a government school teacher posted in Tehri district, barely eight months after her marriage. Srishti Bhandari is reported to have died yesterday in Harrawala under Doiwala police station limits, where she was living with her husband Saurabh Khatri, a private secretary posted in the Uttarakhand Secretariat. According to the complaint lodged by her mother, Seema Kandari, Srishti had been allegedly subjected to continuous mental and physical harassment by her husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law over dowry and other issues since her marriage in November 2025.
The family members have also alleged that she was repeatedly insulted and branded as ‘inauspicious’ after her father-in-law suffered a heart attack three months into the marriage and later passed away. They claimed that Srishti was blamed for misfortunes in the family and was called ‘manhoos’, which added to her distress. Seema Kandari stated that she could not contact her daughter on 28 and 29 July, and later learnt through acquaintances that Srishti had been taken to Kailash Hospital in Dehradun, where doctors declared her as brought dead. Srishti’s family has accused the in-laws of deliberately withholding information about her deteriorating condition and death for many hours.
Reports suggest that, before her death, Srishti recorded a video message expressing her anguish and accusing her in-laws of harassment. Following her death, a post-mortem was conducted on the night of 29 July, and her cremation took place at Khadkhadi cremation ground in Haridwar the next afternoon. Based on her mother’s complaint, Doiwala police registered a case under Section 80(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against husband Saurabh Khatri, mother-in-law Parveena Devi and sister-in-law Charu. The Police officials claimed that the forensic evidence, post-mortem findings and technical inputs would be examined to ensure impartial investigation.
The case has drawn widespread attention as it involves a senior government officer and highlights the continuing menace of dowry-related harassment. Perhaps due to the fact that the accused is a senior government official posted at the Secretariat, no arrests had been made till the time of filing this report. The family of the deceased remains inconsolable, insisting that their daughter had been driven to death by the relentless abuse and humiliation within her marital home. The police have assured that all the evidence, including the video message and witness statements, will be scrutinised thoroughly before further legal action.
