PANAJI: Senior Goa BJP functionary Anil Hoble was booked on Wednesday along with his wife and son for allegedly harassing his daughter-in-law for dowry, the police said.
An FIR was registered against Hoble, his wife Sandhya, and son Milind by the Women Police in Panaji on the basis of a complaint lodged by Mumbai-based Suchitra Shirodkar who alleged that her daughter had been harassed for dowry since her marriage in 2009.
The trio were booked under sections 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, and sections 498 (enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC, an official said.
The complainant stated the Hobles had been demanding a huge dowry from her daughter.
Suchitra Shirodkar, who is based in Mumbai, received a call from Mr Hoble at round 2 am on Tuesday, asking her to pick up her daughter from his home near Panaji, following which she and other family members rushed to Goa, said a senior police officer.
“When we arrived there, my daughter had injury marks. Hoble also threatened to shoot us and chop us up with a knife,” Ms Shirodkar alleged in the complaint.
The complainant alleged her daughter sustained injuries because she was assaulted by Hoble, Sandhya, and Milind, he said.
The complainant has claimed Hoble even threatened to shoot them if they return again with their daughter. She also alleged that Mr Hoble and his family had been making dowry demands since 2009 when his son Milind and her daughter got married.
The Hobles are residents of Merces area on the outskirts of the city.
Police are questioning the trio, the official added.
Meanwhile, Hoble’s lawyer Amit Palyekar has refuted the allegations against his client.
“It is a domestic matter which will be solved within one or two days. Hoble and his kin didn’t demand dowry. There is no need for arrest as there is nothing to be recovered from the Hobles,” he said.