Woman’s husband, in-laws booked for killing her unborn children in UP’s Bhadohi

A case has been registered in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district against a husband and in-laws for allegedly killing a woman’s unborn children twice during pregnancies over dowry demands. Police said an investigation is underway and the accused are absconding

Bhadohi: A woman’s husband and two of her in-laws have been booked for allegedly killing her unborn children twice by assaulting her over dowry demands during her pregnancies, police said on Sunday.

The case against the three accused was registered at the Gopiganj police station based on a written complaint submitted by the woman, Aradhana Shukla, at a ‘Jan Sunvai’ programme on Saturday.

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The woman’s husband Abhinesh Shukla, her mother-in-law Geeta Devi and her brother-in-law Pradeep Shukla have been booked under sections 91 (act done with intent to prevent child from being born alive or to cause to die after birth), 85 (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under the Dowry Prohibition Act, police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhinav Tyagi said Aradhana, a resident of Gudripur under the Gopiganj police station area, married Abhinesh, a resident of Bhanupur Siyarha village, on May 21, 2022.

It is alleged that despite receiving a substantial dowry at the time of the wedding, the accused were demanding an additional sum of Rs 10 lakh. When this demand was not met, they started subjecting Aradhana to constant harassment, the officer said.

According to the complaint, when Aradhana was eight months pregnant, her husband repeatedly kicked her in the abdomen. As her condition deteriorated, he sent her back to her maternal home. Aradhana was hospitalised and her unborn child died in the womb.

Following the intervention of some relatives, Abhinesh took Aradhana to Delhi, where his mother and elder brother live.

When Aradhana was pregnant for the second time, she was once again brutally beaten up by Abhinesh on September 20, 2025, over the demand for dowry. Aradhana, who was two months pregnant at that time, was again kicked in the abdomen, the SP said.

The same day, Abhinesh brought her to Bhadohi from Delhi despite her deteriorating condition, the officer said.

On September 21, 2025, Abhinesh brutally assaulted Aradhana at a secluded spot at Gyanpur Road railway station. Leaving his blood-soaked wife behind, he fled after threatening her that if she returned without Rs 10 lakh, she would be burnt to death, Tyagi said.

Aradhana managed to inform her family, who subsequently took her to the hospital. She suffered a second miscarriage, he said.

The SP also said the woman has claimed that she had tried to get an FIR registered at the Mahila police station and the Gopiganj police station in January this year but no action was taken.

A case has been registered now and a search for the accused is currently underway, the officer said.