THE lack of a dowry caused tensions between a woman and her mother-in-law, who she is accused of battering to death with a rolling pin in Southampton , a court heard.

Rajvinder Kaur, 37, denies murdering Baljit Kaur Buttar, 56, during a visit from India to her home in Broadlands Road, Swaythling , in February 2011.

Giving evidence via a video link from India, Mrs Buttar’s elder son, Nirmal Singh, said his mother was unhappy about the marriage between his brother Iqbal and Kaur, which his father had arranged.

Nirmal, who is married to Kaur’s elder sister, Manjeet, said that his wife’s family did not give her a dowry and that upset his mother.

He said his wife had a “very, very bad” relationship with his mother.

Speaking through an interpreter, he said: “Rajvinder was always good. My mother was always saying wrong things about her. Rajvinder was always very quiet.”

Kaur moved to Southampton to be with her husband in late 2008 or early 2009.

Mrs Buttar visited in August 2010.

The court heard that Mrs Buttar wanted to return to India early but Iqbal persuaded his mother to stay as her visa had not run out.

Also giving evidence via video link from India, Manjeet Singh said that her relationship with her mother-in-law was “sometimes fighting, sometimes happy”.

She said the fighting would sometimes get physical, with pushing.

Manjeet said that Mrs Buttar would “go to neighbours’ houses and talk about us”.

However when she was interviewed by the police in India, she said that Mrs Buttar loved Rajvinder “a lot”.

Manjeet told the court: “I said this because I was scared.”

The jury heard that Iqbal Singh visited his wife every week while she was on remand in prison, accompanied by the couple’s children.

He also spoke to her on the phone every night.

Mr Singh told the court that his wife did not have any friends in the UK and only left their Southampton home accompa¬ nied by him.

Kaur admits manslaughter on the grounds of provocation but denies murder.

Proceeding.