Woman pours hot oil, chilly powder on sleeping husband amid marital feud in Delhi

Police said the 28-year-old suffered severe burns; the accused has not been arrested yet as probe begins.

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.

Case registered under BNS at Ambedkar Nagar PS; police probing long-running marital discord. (Images)

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.

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