Man throws acid-like substance on wife in Delhi, held

The woman had refused to return back with the accused. Police said she had suffered burn injuries on her face, chest, arm, abdomen and thighs.

A 30-year-old woman was allegedly attacked with an acid-like substance by her husband after she refused to go back home with him, said police Monday. The incident took place last week in east Delhi’s Pandav Nagar. Police said the woman is stable now and had suffered burn injuries on her face, chest, arm, abdomen and thighs.

The accused, Prerit Kumar, was arrested this week and is currently in judicial custody.

The accused, Prerit Kumar, was arrested this week and is currently in judicial custody. According to the police, the incident took place on August 12 around 5 pm. The victim, who works as a domestic help in Mayur Vihar area, has been living with her four children in Pandav Nagar. Police said the woman and her husband have been living separately for months.

In the FIR, the woman said,“I live at my mother’s place…I got married in 2011 but my husband used to fight with me regularly and beat me up. For five to six months, I have been living separately.”

On August 12, around 3.30 pm, the husband went to meet his wife and asked her to return to his place. The woman refused, which started an argument between the two. She alleged he had been harassing her.

The FIR read around 5pm, the husband started following her and pulled out a plastic bottle with acid-like substance. “ He opened the cap and threw the acid on my face. He wanted to disfigure my face. I felt a burning sensation all over my body.”

A friend nearby helped her and threw water on the burn injuries. The woman managed to call her mother and brother, who found her lying on a street and rushed her to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital. Her MLC read that she had suffered injuries caused by an “acid like” substance, which led to redness and burns.

A senior police officer said, “The friend of the victim and the family identified the husband as the attacker. We have already sent the acid sample to the forensic lab for testing. The accused was not found at his residence and after several raids, he was arrested on Sunday.”

Abhishek Dhania, DCP (east) said, “We found that the accused threw some flammable type substance, which is most likely acid, on his wife’s face. A case under BNS section 124 (2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid ) has been registered against him. We also found evidence that the husband bought the substance recently and attacked his wife. He has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.”

The victim’s family on Monday said the woman is still undergoing treatment, and is not in a condition to speak, the police added.