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Andhra Pradesh: Couple held for bid to set afire Dalit woman
Despite police warning, Reddy and seven other people went to the woman’s house on March 15 and assaulted her and her mother, Prakasam district superintendent of police said
Hyderabad
A couple has been arrested for allegedly assaulting, stripping and trying to set afire a 28-year-old Dalit woman after her brother eloped and married their daughter, in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, police said on Wednesday. The two have been remanded in two-week judicial custody, while the woman’s condition is stable, an officer familiar with the matter said.
The suspected hate crime took place at Botlapalem village of Prakasam district early on Tuesday. The accused – Gangireddy Brahma Reddy (52) and his wife Pullamma (48) — were arrested the same evening and remanded in two-week judicial custody, superintendent of police (Prakasam), Malika Garg, said.
Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, the accused have been booked under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 354 (assault on woman to outrage her modesty), 354 (B) (disrobing a woman), 367 (abduction), 324 (attacking with lethal weapons), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 read with 34 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, besides various sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at Darsi police station, Garg added.
On the possible cause of the assault, the SP said Brahma Reddy and his wife developed a grudge against the Dalit woman’s family after her younger brother eloped with their daughter and got married on March 2 this year.
“Brahma Reddy had lodged a complaint with the Darsi police that his daughter had gone missing. Hours later, their daughter approached the police and sought protection from her parents saying that she wanted to live with her husband,” Garg said.
Despite police warning, Reddy and seven other people went to the woman’s house on March 15 and assaulted her and her mother, the SP added. “The accused also used casteist slurs against their family.”
A police complaint was subsequently lodged against the accused.
At around 12.30 am on Tuesday, Reddy and his wife went to the Dalit woman’s house again and assaulted her to withdraw the complaint.
“They sprinkled chilli powder in the woman’s eyes and started beating her with sticks and knives. When her mother came out, the Reddy couple assaulted her too, kicking her, but she managed to escape. Then, the couple dragged the Dalit woman to their house by holding the tuft of her hair, tied her hands and legs with a plastic rope, caused injuries on her body with knives and beat her with an iron rod and axe,” the SP said, quoting the complaint lodged by the woman.
“The couple also threatened to kill the Dalit woman’s daughter if she did not withdraw the complaint against them. When she did not heed to their threats, they poured petrol on her body and attempted to set her afire,” he added.
The woman’s mother, however, informed the police who reached the spot in time to rescue the woman. She is currently undergoing treatment for injuries, and her condition is stable, the SP said.
The couple, who escaped the scene of crime after police arrived, were later nabbed from a bus stand. “We formed three special police teams to arrest Reddy and his wife. Our teams nabbed them from East Gangavaram bus stand of Thallur mandal. They were later produced before a local court that remanded them to judicial custody,” the SP added.
