Chennai: A 30-year old goldsmith has been sentenced to undergo 10 years of rigorous imprisonment on charge of dowry death by a city court. He married his uncle’s daughter following a love affair in 2007. Special public prosecutor Gowri Asokan said that A. Natarajan, 30, of Washermenpet was having a love affair with Sangareswari, daughter of his uncle, Mariyappan. Following the approval of both the families, he married Sangareswari on May 27, 2007. He obtained 18 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 10,000 in cash as dowry from his uncle. The couple was living along with Natarajan’s family members on Nallappa Vathithiyar Street in the area. Natarajan was working in the family run smithery.

They were blessed with a two-year-old son and a 9-month old daughter. A year after the marriage, he planned to start his own smithery. He sought financial assistance from Mariappan. Natarajan harassed and tortured Sangareswari repeatedly to bring money from her family. Unable to withstand the torture, she returned to her residence. After collecting Rs 30,000 from his father-in-law, he allowed her in his residence. However, he continued to harass her again. On April 11, 2011, she was found lying in a pool of blood in the residence by her neighbours. She had sustained serious head injuries. Immediately, she was rushed to a private hospital and later shifted to Stanley Medical College hospital. She died in the hospital on April 15.

On a complaint from Mariappan, Washermenpet police have registered case against Natarajan, his parents — A. Vasantha, 50 and P. Arumugam, 58, and his brother, A. Karuthapandi, 28, under section 489 A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 304 B (dowry death). While acquitting his family members, Meena Sathish sentenced Natarajan to undergo RI for 10 years for dowry death. The judge slapped him with a fine of `15,000. Natarajan denied the allegations and stated that he was innocent.