Neighbour held for acid attack on woman who spurned his proposals

Police said the suspect, identified as Montu, was allegedly stalking her and pestering her for marriage, even though she was already married and living with her husband

A 23-year-old woman was left critically injured and fighting for her life after her 26-year-old neighbour allegedly tied up her up and threw acid on her at his home in outer Delhi’s Bawana on Diwali eve (November 3).

When the woman refused and reprimanded him for stalking her and troubling her, Montu became furious and overpowered her. He forcibly tied her hands and threw acid on her before fleeing the room. (Representational image)

Police said the suspect, identified as Montu, was allegedly stalking her and pestering her for marriage, even though she was already married and living with her husband. He fled to his home town in Bihar’s Buxar after assaulting the woman and he was arrested on November 6 from there and brought to Delhi, the police said on Monday.

During his interrogation, the police said Montu also disclosed that he had planned to shoot dead the woman, if her husband proved a hurdle between them. To execute his murder plan, Montu also procured a countrymade pistol, which he allegedly hid in a secluded place in Bawana. The police team took him to the spot he mentioned to recover the weapon, but when they reached there, Montu allegedly retrieved the gun from behind the bushes and fired at the police team.

Stunned by the sudden attack, the policemen returned the fire and the bullet hit Montu in the leg, said deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Brijendra Kumar Yadav.

Outlining the sequence of events, the police said on November 3, the Bawana police station received information that a woman was attacked with acid by her neighbour at his room in Sector 3, Bawana. She was admitted to a nearby hospital in a critical condition, they said.

“Three policemen donated blood to the woman as her condition was serious and she is still under close observation at the hospital,” said a senior police officer associated with the case, asking not to be named.

The woman’s statement was recorded and a case of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid was registered under Section 326A of the India Penal Code (IPC) against Montu.

In her statement, the woman said she lived with her husband in Bawana. Her neighbour Montu started talking to her and expressed his love for her. On several occasions, he asked her to marry him. However, she flatly refused and told him that she was happily married, the officer said.

“As Montu began pestering her for marriage, the woman shifted to another area in Bawana with her husband. But that did not help much as Montu too shifted to their new neighbourhood,” the officer said, requesting not to be named.

On November 3, the officer, quoting the woman’s statement, said Montu called her to his room on some pretext and asked her to leave her husband and live with him. When the woman refused and reprimanded him for stalking her and troubling her, Montu became furious and overpowered her. He forcibly tied her hands and threw acid on her before fleeing the room. The woman screamed in pain and was rescued by neighbours. She was admitted to a nearby hospital, the officer said.

“Through technical investigation, we found out that the suspect was in Buxar and arrested him from there. He confessed to the crime and said he attacked the woman because she refused to marry him. He revealed that apart from the acid attack, he had also planned to shoot her dead if her husband came between them,” DCP Yadav said.

The police said a separate case of attempt to murder and attacking the police personnel on duty was registered against Montu in connection with the firing incident.