Following a complaint by Poonam Sahani (24) in March this year alleging mental and physical harassment by her in-laws the social crime branch of Mumbai police remanded her husband Hemant Sahani, mother-in-law Usha Sahani, aunt Saroj Sahani and her husband Joginder Sahani to police custody under section 498 (a)(b), read with 34 of the IPC.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Usha Iyer, of the Esplanade Court the Sahanis on bail on Friday after cooling their heels in the lock-up from June 24 to July 2. However, they were asked to report to the social service branch twice every week for the next three weeks.

A Mumbai girl, Poonam had married Hemant on December 5, 1996. Recalling her days after her wedding she said, ``Since he was based in Delhi, my father had arranged an elaborate marriage ceremony in the capital itselfand we had given the boy's family dowry worth nearly Rs 16 lakh.''

She added that though law prohibits both the giving and taking of dowry, it was the mental and physical harassment that really broke the marriage and forced her to file a police complaint. ``From day one of our marriage, the boy's family started demanding more dowry, but when I told them that they already had enough I was humiliated with abusive language and was also beaten several times. Finally after 11 months of torture I went back to my parents house in Mumbai,'' informed Poonam.

When repeated efforts to recover the dowry items did not materialise, Poonam filed an FIR with the social service branch. A police team went to Delhi on June 15 this year and recovered Rs 4 lakh worth of gold and silver ornaments. The police team also summoned them to appear before the Esplanade Court on the due date.

``Though there is more dowry to be recovered, we already feel that justice has been given to our daughter who endured a lot of torture inDelhi,'' said the victim's mother, Usha Bhasin, a resident of Chunabhatti.