Professor Shalini Bharat, who stepped down from the post of Director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) after completing her term of five years earlier this week, has been booked by the Govandi police in Mumbai on a complaint filed by her daughter-in-law.
The police have registered a case of subjecting a woman to cruelty, against Shalini Bharat, former Director/Vice Chancellor of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), her husband and her son.
The police registered the case on September 18 and have begun an investigation into the matter. Shalini retired from service on Monday.
Anshumala Singh (36), the complainant, hails from Lucknow and works as a senior manager in a public sector bank. She got married to Shalini Bharat’s son, Madhav Singh (39), who works as an assistant manager in a private company, in 2013.
Anshumala, in her complaint, said that she married Madhav Singh in 2013 at Taj Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur, a venue which was chosen at the insistence of Shalini. After marriage, Anshumala lived with her in-laws at their place in Govandi.
When contacted, Shalini said, “The matter is sub-judice in the Family Court and so I do not wish to comment on it. The complainant moved out of the matrimonial home on her own will nearly 7.5 years ago. I stand for women’s rights to justice, being a woman myself. I have full faith in our judiciary to deliver justice. Please do note that I am not TISS Director anymore. I hope there is no attempt to defame me for a baseless and misleading complaint.”
As per Anshumala allegations in the FIR, after her marriage, no one at home would talk to her, and all family members would be busy with their respective work. She alleged that as the couple was unable to conceive, her mother-in-law allegedly asked her to get herself medically examined.
Anshumala alleged that after her medical test reports came normal, she insisted that her husband too should get himself examined due to which her mother-in-law became angry with her.
She has also alleged that there was demand for dowry from her husband’s family who also pressured her to stake claim on the property belonging to her mother.
Anshumala subsequently started staying separately in the company’s quarters in Belapur, Navi Mumbai.
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In 2020, her husband sent her a court notice for divorce, to which she responded.
She also said that the delay in reporting the matter was due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
The FIR against Shalini, her husband, and their son has been registered under sections 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code.