Woman booked for allegedly burning 10-year-old stepdaughter with incense sticks

A woman in Mumbai has been booked for assaulting her 10-year-old stepdaughter and burning her with incense sticks. The stepdaughter's biological father filed a complaint against his current wife, who had previously filed a case of domestic violence against him. The man stated that his wife would frequently fight with him over small issues, and he accused her of assaulting his daughter with a wooden stick and burning her with incense sticks. A case has been registered against the stepmother under sections 506 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.

MUMBAI: A woman was recently booked for allegedly assaulting her 10-year-old stepdaughter and burning her with incense sticks. A case was registered based on the statement given by the girl’s biological father, said a police officer, adding that the couple fought often, and last month, the woman registered a case of domestic violence against him.

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The complainant, a 33-year-old resident of Mulund East, lodged a cross-complaint alleging that his 10-year-old daughter from his first wife was allegedly tortured by his current wife, said a police officer.

According to the police, the complainant, who is in the garment business, said that after getting divorced from his first wife in 2016, he got remarried to a 36-year-old woman, who too was a divorcee, in 2018. He said that he stays with his 10-year-old daughter from his first wife, his second wife, and her 10-year-old daughter from her first husband. The complainant told the police that he and his wife used to fight over small issues often and in September 2023, she had lodged a police complaint against him. He added that he submitted a written complaint to the Navghar police station a month ago alleging that his wife was allegedly assaulting his 10-year-old daughter with a wooden stick without any reason. He also alleged that she used to burn her with incense sticks.

He said the torture of his daughter came to light recently after the girl narrated the incident to his brother’s family members. “Based on his written complaint, we have registered a case against the stepmother under sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and including sections of the Juvenile Justice Act,” the police officer added.