Vismaya Dowry Death: Husband Kiran Kumar sentenced to 10 years in jail

Kollam: A district court in Kerala's Kollam district on Tuesday pronounced the sentence in the sensational Vismaya dowry death case that sent shockwaves across the state last year.

As per a LiveLaw report, Kollam Additional District and Sessions Judge Sujith KN sentenced Vismaya's husband Kiran Kumar to ten years imprisonment and a fine of ₹12.5 lakh for the offense of dowry death; six years in jail and a two lakh fine for abetting her suicide; and two years in jail plus a Rs 50,000 fine under the offense of criminal intimidation.

He has also been sentenced to six years in jail and a Rs 10 lakh fine under the Dowry Prohibition Act, and one year in jail plus a Rs 5,000 fine under the offense of demanding dowry. These sentences will run concurrently, which means that even though Kiran has been sent to a total of 25 years in jail, he will spend 10 years in jail. The fine amount — Rs 12.55 lakh — will be paid to Vismaya's parents as compensation.

Right before the judgment, Kiran had requested the court to spare him from maximum punishment as he was the lone support for his elderly parents when the judge asked him if he had anything to convey.

The Kollam court had on May 23 held him guilty for the death of his wife Vismaya, an Ayurveda medical student who was found hanging in the bedroom of her marital home on June 21, 2021.

And the very next day her husband Kiran Kumar was arrested for dowry harassment. He was later dismissed from the service by the transport minister. He was the assistant motor vehicle inspector in the transport department.

During the year-long trial, as many as 42 witnesses, 102 documents and several call records were examined in the court. The police, in the 500-page charge sheet found that Vismaya committed suicide due to dowry harassment.