Pune: Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law Arrested In Payal Zambre Suicide Case Over Alleged Dowry Harassment

Pune: The Pune police have arrested the mother-in-law and father-in-law of Payal Zambre, who allegedly died by suicide following prolonged dowry-related harassment, taking the total number of arrests in the case to three. Her husband, Akshay Zambre, was arrested two days earlier.

The arrested in-laws have been identified as Arvind Zambre and Mangal Zambre. Both were allegedly absconding after police registered a case against four members of Payal's marital family. Police subsequently traced and arrested them.

According to a complaint filed by Payal's brother, Rishikesh Pawar, she was allegedly subjected to physical and mental harassment by her husband and in-laws over repeated demands for money and gold.

The family alleged that the harassment continued for years after her marriage in 2019. The suspects allegedly demanded five tola of gold from her parental family on the occasion of Diwali this year.

On Nov 2, Payal's family members found her hanging at her marital residence in Pune after she failed to respond to their calls. Before her death, she had reportedly sent a message to her family at around 9.18 pm on Sunday, stating, "My mother-in-law is responsible."

Based on her brother's complaint, Swargate police registered a case against four members of her marital family under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Dowry Prohibition Act.

With the latest arrests, police have taken three suspects into custody. Further investigation is underway.