Woman protests outside in-laws' home over 50L dowry demand

Agra: A 28-year-old woman staged a protest outside her in-laws' house in New Mandi Kotwali, Muzaffarnagar, on Sunday after allegedly being denied entry over a Rs 50 lakh dowry demand, and she continues her demonstration.

Shalini Singhal, a newlywed from Budhana in Muzaffarnagar, married Pranav Singhal, 30, an architect, on Feb 12. The couple travelled to Bali for their honeymoon on 17th Feb, but Shalini claims Pranav's behaviour changed upon their return on 21st Feb.

She alleges that after the trip, he demanded Rs 50 lakh for house construction. When she couldn't meet the demand, he sent her back to her maternal home. When she later returned, Pranav and his parents refused to let her in. In response, she set up a tent outside the house with her family.

Pranav, however, claims Shalini, a lawyer, threatened him and admitted she only married him at her father's insistence. "If she starts living in my house again, I fear for my safety," he said.