Delhi woman pours boiling oil over husband in his sleep, adds chilli to wounds

The alleged assault, which police suspect was triggered by a long-running matrimonial dispute, left the man hospitalised with painful burns across his body.

A 28-year-old man suffered severe burns after his wife allegedly poured hot oil on him while he was asleep and then threw chilli powder over his wounds in south Delhi’s Madangir last week, police said Wednesday. The alleged assault, which police suspect was triggered by a long-running matrimonial dispute, left the man hospitalised with painful burns across his body.

The man was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment(Pixabay/Representative)

The victim, Dinesh Kumar, a pharmaceutical company employee, was first taken to Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital before being shifted to Safdarjung Hospital for further treatment. Kumar told police in his complaint that his wife, Sadhna, attacked him around 3.15am on October 2 as he lay sleeping beside their four-year-old daughter.

“He woke up with a burning sensation to find his wife holding a container of hot oil,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan. “She then threw chilli powder on him and threatened to pour more oil if he raised an alarm.”

Hearing his screams, the landlord rushed in and called Kumar’s brother-in-law, Ram Sagar, who took him to the hospital, police said. Police were alerted after receiving a medico-legal intimation from the hospital. Based on Kumar’s statement and preliminary evidence, a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at Ambedkar Nagar police station.

Investigators said the couple, originally from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, had been living in a rented flat in Madangir for several years and had frequent disputes. “Our investigation revealed that the woman had earlier filed a complaint against her husband at the Crime Against Women (CAW) Cell two years ago. The matter was resolved, but she filed another complaint a few weeks ago,” said an officer.

Police added that the woman has not been arrested yet, as the investigation is in its initial stage.