Arrested for wife's suicide over dowry, Kerala govt official sacked

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 6 In a first of its kind action, a Kerala government official has been dismissed from service after he was arrested for the alleged suicide of his wife over dowry demands.

Transport Minister Antony Raju on Friday said this is the first time in Kerala that a state government employee has been dismissed from service after following due process.

"Through this decision, the accused official will not be able to get any government job now as per the rules and we did go by the rules and dismissed him from service. We are not looking into the ongoing police probe because we went by the rules that are applicable to Kerala government officials," Raju added.

Twenty seven-year-old Kiran Kumar was arrested in June, days after his wife Vismaya, a final year Ayurveda student, hanged herself at her husband's home in Kollam district.

It was revealed that Kumar was unhappy with the new car that was given to him along with 1.2 acre of land and 100 sovereigns of gold as dowry. This case has led to massive public outrage.

The couple got married last year.

Kiran Kumar harassed his wife as the new car worth Rs 10 lakh that was given to him gave low mileage and he wanted to sell it and buy a new luxury car.

Expressing happiness at the action taken by the Kerala government, Vismaya's father thanked the government.

"When I asked Minister (Raju), that even though Kumar worked in his department, he did not come to our house he told me he will come only after Kumar is dismissed from service. He has kept his word. Even though I will never get back my daughter, this verdict is also going to be an eye-opener for all, that strong action will be taken against the accused," said Vismaya's father.

Kollam Lok Sabha member N.K. Premachandran, who is also a former Kerala Minister, said that if the dismissal has been done after going through all the laws then it's fine.

"If not, it will boomerang and do more damage than good. I will wholeheartedly welcome this dismissal order and presume all the due process of law has been completed for dismissing the accused," said Premachandran.

Kumar is currently in judicial custody.

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