Police on Wednesday arrested Pankaj Chaudhary, a permanent resident of Ramgopalpur Municipality-5 in Mahottari district, on charges of domestic violence and dowry.

Superintendent of Police Krishna Pangeni said Pankaj, who is in his mid-thirties, was detained for investigation after his wife Neha Chaudhary lodged a complaint against him. She accused Pankaj of beating her repeatedly and forcing her maternal family to cough up a huge amount of money as dowry. She claimed that her husband tortured her accusing her of not bringing enough dowries.

Neha filed a complaint against Pankaj at the Mahottari District Court a week ago. The court on Monday issued an order against Pankaj’s family not to incur any physical, mental, or psychological torture on Neha and protect her at home. The court said that it issued the order as Neha’s protection was a must for the investigation into the case.

The court on Wednesday remanded Pankaj into custody for investigation.

Pankaj and Neha married nine months ago after being in a relationship for about two years. A month ago, Neha took to social media to claim that she had been a victim of domestic violence. She posted some photos of her injuries online.

Neha’s family has claimed that Pankaj and his family repeatedly tortured her for not bringing enough dowries. Suresh Chaudhary, Neha’s father, said that they spent around Rs15 million on the wedding function and on dowries.

Pankaj, an MBBS doctor, worked at Grande International Hospital and Norvic International Hospital in Kathmandu while Neha had been studying in the national capital. Pankaj’s family allegedly forced Neha to quit her studies after engagement.

Neha claimed that Pankaj and his family started torturing her following her plans to stay with her husband in Kathmandu and continue her studies. “They started misbehaving with me saying that my family did not provide them with a house in Kathmandu,” Neha said. “They gave me tremendous mental pressure to ask my parents to buy a house for them in Kathmandu.”

Neha’s maternal family claimed Pankaj and his family had severely thrashed her four times since their marriage. Neha was staying with her maternal family after Pankaj and his mother, Godawari Devi, severely beat her on October 7. Following Monday’s court order, Neha returned to Pankaj’s house but her husband and in-laws, according to neighbours, did not let her enter the house.