Man rejects wife for giving birth to girl, booked for harassment

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-rejects-wife-for-giving-birth-to-girl-booked-for-harassment/1082720/0
Nearly a year after a 21-year-old woman from Malad was rejected by her husband and in-laws for giving birth to a girl child (Arhana), a case of harassment has now been registered against the husband. The couple got married in November 2009 and the wife, Zameera, was sent to her parents' house in Malwani when she was four months' pregnant. The husband, Ahmed Koti (27), warned her that if she gave birth to a girl, she would not be accepted. Koti, who did not even see his daughter, remarried within 11 months of the girl's birth.
The helpless mother, who has been living with her parents for over a year, wrote to the Malwani police in January 2012, asking them to intervene in the matter and register a case of harassment. "I had been waiting for my husband to come and pick me up. I waited for 11 months after my daughter was born, but nobody turned up. I could not see any alternative, so I approached the police thinking that my husband would at least listen to them," said Zameera.
On Wednesday, Mahesh Patil, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 11), gave his sanction to register a case of harassment under Section 498 of the Indian Penal Code against Koti. He is a resident of the Collectors Compound in Malwani and works for a private firm.
Koti is expected to be arrested soon by Malwani police.
In a follow-up to Zameera's letter, her case was referred to the Mahila Dakshata Samiti (MDS) for counselling. The MDS consists of a group of women from the area, selected by the DCP in November last year. The samiti is in charge of couselling couples on family issues and solves them without intervention by the police. Among the cases handled by the samiti so far, this is the first that has been turned into an FIR.
Qaiser Asif Fasahte, president of the samiti, said they have had 20 cases since November and have been able to solve seven. She, however, said Zameera's case was the most difficult as they could not conduct any counselling. "We appeal to the police to register a case only after trying in every way to cousel the couple. This case, however, was different. Koti had deliberately rejected Zameera for giving birth to a girl," said Fasahte.
It was the samiti which informed Zameera of her husband's second marriage. "My daughter Arhana was born a year ago and I kept praying for my husband to come and see us, but he did not turn up. When I wrote to the police, Fasahte got in touch with me and informed me about Ahmed's second marriage," said Zameera.
After studying Zameera's application, the samiti called her to the police station to understand the case. The members then checked Koti's background and found that he has already remarried. His second wife is 22 years old.
"In cases like these, we first see if there is any chance of reaching an agreement among family members through counseling. We try to talk to the complainant first, then to the accused separately. We then counsel both parties together and try to strike a dialogue between the two and resolve the matter," added Fasahte.
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