Kannada singer Hemant held for harassing wife

BANGALORE - Well-known Kannada playback singer Hemant has been arrested for allegedly harassing his estranged wife for dowry, police said here.

Hemant was taken into custody Saturday evening after his wife, Priyadharshini, filed a complaint at the Basavanagudi police station here, alleging that he was troubling her for dowry.

Inspector Sathyavathi of the women’s wing of the police station said Priyadharshini had complained that her in-laws and Hemant’s sister had also harassed her.

“The onus of disproving Priyadharshini’s charges rests on Hemant,” said Sathyavathi.

Priyadharshini has been living with her parents for the past 18 months due to the marital discord.

Addressing the media later, she said that Hemant had been troubling her for dowry right from the day after their marriage.

“I was facing mental and physical torture continuously. I do not know why he married me in the first place… Many times he told me that I was beautiful, but said that he needed more money. My dreams of marrying a talented singer were dashed immediately,” said Priyadharshini.

Hemant had won the best singer state award for his song “Preethse Preethse”.