A woman in Indian state of Kerala was allegedly starved to death by her in-laws for not bringing enough dowry at the time of her marriage, local media reported.

Thushara, a 27-year old mother-of-two, was decreased to a “bag of a skeleton” and weighed only 20kg at death, police found, in a case that has caused public affront.

She was refuse food for days and was fed only soaked rice and sugar syrup, police investigation revealed.

“She looked like a bag of a skeleton with hardly any flesh on her body. She weighed just 20kg. A detailed inquiry has thrown light to the cruelty. Her relatives alleged that the torture was to get more dowry,” a police official told Press Trust of India.

Her husband Chandulal and his mother Geetha Lal have been arrested.

According to Thushara’s mother, the indicted had been torturing her daughter for the past five years and had not allowed the family members to meet her for one year.

“We did not give any police reproach as we feared it would put my daughter’s life in danger,” she said.