NCP MLC and Four Family Members Booked for 'Harassing' Her Daughter-in law

Mumbai: NCP legislator Vidya Chavan and four members of her family, including husband and two sons, have been booked in a case of alleged harassment, cruelty and assault on her daughter-in law, police said on Monday.

Besides Vidya Chavan, a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the others booked in the case are her husband Abhijeet, their two sons Anand (victim's brother-in-law), Ajit (the victim's husband) and Sheetal (victim's sister-in-law and Anand's wife), they said.

An FIR against them has been registered at the suburban Vile Parle police station. According to a police official, the FIR was registered against the MLC and the others after her daughter-in-law filed a complaint on January 16.

The NCP leader and her family members have been booked under IPC sections 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), the police said.

When contacted by PTI, Vidya Chavan denied all the allegations and accused her daughter-in law of having multiple affairs.

According to the victim, her brother-in-law Anand Chavan used to make inappropriate gestures, while her sister-in-law Sheetal, too, mentally harassed her when she stayed with them at their residence in Vile Parle, the official said.

The trouble started after the complainant, who has a daughter, delivered a second baby girl, who was born premature and died later, he said.

"The Chavan family wanted a baby boy and the complainant delivered a baby girl for a second time which is the reason for harassment," the official said, quoting the victim.

The victim is also demanding her valuables kept at Vidya Chavan's residence, he said. "On several occasions, she contacted Chavan family members, seeking return of her valuables. However, she has not yet got them," the official said.

After the FIR was registered, the police summoned Vidya Chavan and the other accused and recorded their statements.

In their statements, Vidya Chavan and the others denied the allegations, terming them as false, he said. The victim was not interested in staying with her husband and in-laws, and wanted to go back to her father's home, the official said, quoting from the statements.

"The Chavan family is taking care of her daughter and no one harassed the victim when she was with them," he said.

The investigation into the case is still on, the official said, adding no arrest has been made so far. Vidya Chavan said on Monday that her son asked his wife for divorce with mutual understanding, but instead she went to the police and filed a complaint.

"My son, who is an engineer by profession, got married around 10 years back. Now, he has a seven-year-old daughter and we are taking care of her," the legislator said.

"Last year, she was suppose to go to Denmark with my son. One day, her WhatsApp stopped working and my son took her mobile phone for repair.

"Once the phone got repaired, he checked her messages and found that she was having affairs with four men," Vidya Chavan claimed.

She said they informed about this to the victim's parents.

"On December 7, my son revealed to me everything and said she has cheated on him. He cancelled his plan to go to Denmark with his wife and daughter," the NCP leader said.

"We informed her parents, too, and they spoke to her and during the conversation, she confessed to having affairs," Vidya Chavan claimed.