New Delhi: Hyderabad Police arrested southern television actor Madhu Prakash in connection with the death of his wife. The actor was apprehended after the girl's family members registered a complaint against him with Raidurgam police alleging that she took the extreme step over dowry harassment by her in-laws.
News agency ANI quoted Circle Inspector Ravinder as saying, "Actor Madhu Prakash was yesterday apprehended in connection with his wife's suicide. The father of the deceased lodged a complaint against Madhu Prakash stating he used to harass her for dowry. A case has been registered against him and the accused has been apprehended."
The police officer further told the news agency that the girl's father alleged that Madhu had also beaten his daughter several times. "Madhu used to harass Bharti for dowry and he had even beaten her which abetted her to commit suicide," Bharti's father mentioned in the complaint.
A case has been registered against the actor under Section 304B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code. "Madhu will be sent to judicial custody on Thursday," the police said.
Madhu and Bharti got married in 2015 and were living together at their Hyderabad home. Media reports suggest the couple used to frequently fight each other and Bharti reportedly used to suspect him of having an extra-marital affair with a co-star.
Madhu, on the other hand, in his statament said that Bharati used to be upset about his late working hours and on the day of the incident, i.e. on Tuesday morning, he told her that he is going for the gym and instead went for the shoot. When Bharati found out about it, she asked him to return home, threatening to commit suicide. The actor added that he ignored her call and when he returned home at around 7:30 pm, he found her hanging by the ceiling fan, inside her room.
Meanwhile, a police investigation is underway.
Madhu played a small role in ace filmmaker SS Rajamouli's 'Baahubali'. Currently, he is seen paying Rudra in daily soap 'Kumkum Pavvu'.
