Uttarakhand teacher's death leads to dowry murder FIR against husband and in-laws

A dowry-death complaint was lodged after Shristi Bhandari, a 27-year-old government school teacher, died in Dehradun’s Doiwala area. The FIR, filed under Section 80(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, names her husband, personal secretary Saurabh Khatri, his mother Parvina Devi, sister Charu Khatri and other unidentified family members as accused. According to the mother’s report, the couple married in November and moved into Khatri’s family home, where Shristi faced ongoing physical and mental cruelty and repeated dowry demands.

Circle Officer Vandana Verma said the family repeatedly called her “inauspicious” and blamed her for misfortunes, including the death of her father-in-law. After failing to contact her on July 28-29, relatives discovered her in critical condition at a local hospital; she succumbed to her injuries before her mother arrived from Srinagar in Garhwal.