New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) A court here has observed that harassment of women for dowry is increasing while awarding a three-year jail term to a victim’s husband and two others for harassing her for the past 14 years.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ekta Gauba said: “…the harassment of women for demand of dowry is increasing in today’s scenario”.

The court made the remark while awarding the jail term to victim Anuradha’s husband Mukesh Kumar, her sister-in-law Guddi and brother-in-law Virender Singh after convicting them under various charges dealing with enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman.

The court also directed the three to pay a compensation of Rs.5,000 each to her.

The court noted: “Kumar being the husband of complainant along with convict Virender Singh and convict Guddi being the relatives of the husband of the complainant subjected the complainant to mental and physical cruelty in order to compel the complainant to meet their unlawful demand for dowry.”

“…Kumar being the husband of the complainant also wrongfully misappropriated the stridhan of the complainant and did not return the same to the complainant despite the same demanded by the complainant,” the court said.

“…convict Mukesh Kumar being the husband of the complainant and responsible to happily keep the complainant victimised and harassed the complainant for demand of dowry and convict Guddi being herself a woman had victimised another woman, i.e. complainant who was her sister-in-law and the convict Virender Singh being the jeth of the complainant had also victimised the complainant.”

The order was delivered Thursday and released Saturday.

Anuradha had married Kumar March 8, 2000.

According to the prosecution, the three were harassing her physically and mentally and compelling her to meet their demands for dowry.

A complaint was lodged in January 2002 in the Nangloi police station in west Delhi.

The court observed that the three convicts were harassing Anuradha for the past 14 years though she has been staying with her mother since 2002.