Bhubaneswar, Aug 7 - A criminal case has been registered against a state cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer for allegedly torturing his wife for dowry in Nayagarh district of Orissa, police said Friday.

Meenal Agarwal, 24, in her complaint at a police station in Nayagarh, 87 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, alleged that her husband Jai Narayan Pankaj tortured her physically and mentally for dowry.

The mother of a one-year-old child also alleged in her complaint filed on Thursday that her parents gave Rs.40 lakh cash as dowry during their marriage about two years ago.

'We have registered a case under various sections of Indian Penal Code, including under dowry prevention act. Investigation is on,' Inspector in-charge Tapan Kumar Patnaik told IANS.

Pankaj, a 2005 batch IPS officer, is currently working as Superintendent of Police of Nayagarh.

He had gone on leave a day before his wife lodged the complaint, Patnaik said.