Punjab Newsline | Rohtak

A 22-year-old married woman was found dead inside a plastic water tank on the rooftop of a house in Nehru Colony, Rohtak, on Sunday night. Her family has accused her in-laws of killing her over dowry and placing her body inside the water tank. Police have registered a case based on the complaint and launched an investigation.

The deceased was identified as Chetna, daughter of Virender Singh, a resident of Machhrauli village in Jhajjar district. She had married Manish, son of Rajender, a resident of Nehru Colony, in December 2025.

According to Chetna's family, she had allegedly been facing harassment and physical abuse at her matrimonial home since the marriage over dowry. The family said several attempts were made through local panchayats to resolve the dispute. Chetna's father alleged that her husband was demanding a car and that his daughter was repeatedly harassed over the demand.

Virender Singh said he had visited his daughter's in-laws on Independence Day and tried to persuade the family to let Chetna return to her parental home. However, the family allegedly refused to send her and behaved rudely with him.

On August 16, at around 10 pm, Chetna's family received a call from her in-laws informing them that she had gone missing. Virender Singh reached the house and began searching for her along with his brother-in-law Kuldeep Rathi. A missing-person complaint was also submitted to the police.

After 11 pm, the family was informed that Chetna's body had been found inside the plastic water tank on the rooftop. Her father alleged that she had been murdered and her body was placed inside the tank, which contained around 2.4 feet of water.

ASI Sanjeet Singh, the investigating officer at City Police Station, said police received information about the body of a married woman being found inside a water tank. A police team reached the spot, recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem examination.

The body was later handed over to the family. Police said a case has been registered against the woman's in-laws based on the complaint filed by her parental family, and further investigation is underway.