Mumbai: 20-year-old tortured till she miscarried baby girl

Razia and Owais Penwala on their wedding day last February

When 20-year-old Razia married into the Penwala family, she never imagined they would take away all she had - money, jewellery, wedding gifts and even her unborn daughter. After a year of being tormented for not bearing a son, when she conceived a daughter, her in-laws tortured her until she lost the baby. The Nagpada police booked her husband and in-laws for foeticide and domestic violence.

Razia's in-laws Zaida and Firoz Penwala have also been booked

Razia got married to Owais Penwala on February 12, 2016, and then moved to Behram Baug, Jogeshwari (W). "My mother-in-law would tell me to go back to my father's house. They made me work all day and taunted me about the work," Razia told the police. "The arguments escalated when my sister-in-law got pregnant, and they started asking me when I would give them a son," she added.

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Pregnancy brings no relief
Razia got pregnant in September 2016, but the arguments only got worse. "The taunts turned into assault; my husband would hit me. Communication with my parents was completely cut off and things got worse," said Razia.

In November 2016, when Razia was 3 months pregnant, her husband took her for a ride. "I was accompanied by my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law's fiancée. They took me to a clinic to get a sonography test done. The sonography revealed that I was with child," recalled Razia.

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But after that, the harassment got even worse, she alleged. "They made me work even more, even though they knew my health was not strong enough," added Razia.

She further alleged that her husband even forced her to smuggle gold back from their Bangkok trip, and when she tried resisting, he forced her to walk for 7 km.

Miscarriage
On May 2, Razia started experiencing severe stomach ache and bleeding. Razia told her husband and family to get her medical assistance, but they didn't pay heed. Her father, Masood Patel said, "My daughter called me and begged me to take her home. I hurried to Jogeshwari and took her to Bhatia Hospital, where she had a stillbirth."

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"It was all because of the torture from her husband and in-laws," alleged he father. Owais went to see Razia but left in few minutes. The next day, he messaged to say that he didn't want any further relations with her and that their marriage was over.

"It was a huge shock for my ailing daughter. They demanded jewellery worth R9.24 lakh, furniture and cash amounting to R5 lakh for the wedding, which we gave without complaining. After all that, this is how we were rewarded. I want the cops to put them behind bars. My daughter could have died of complications, I want justice for her," said Masood.

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"A case was registered on May 31 against Razia's husband, Owais Penwala, his father Firoz, mother Zaida, and three more relatives under IPC sections 498 (A) (husband or relative of Husband of a women subjecting her to cruelty), 406(criminal breach of trust), 315 (to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) and 34 (common intention)," said an officer from Nagpada police station.

Husband says
Owais said, "We will reply to police accordingly. It's a family matter, I don't want to discuss it in public."