A 28-year-old man in Delhi’s Madangir area woke up in the middle of the night to a searing pain and the sight of his wife standing over him with a container of boiling oil, police said on Wednesday.
He reportedly said in his complaint that at around 3:15 am, he woke up to finding his wife pouring boiling oil on his torso and face, and later sprinkling red chilli on his burns. “’Agar shor machaya to aur garam tel daal doongi (I will pour more hot oil if you raise alarm’,” the husband alleged his wife told him, according to news agency PTI.
The victim, identified as Dinesh Kumar, who works with a pharmaceutical company, was initially taken to Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital and later shifted to Safdarjung Hospital for advanced treatment.
In his police complaint, Kumar stated that the assault took place around 3.15am on October 2 while he was 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.”
However, the victim could not muffle his screams, alerting the landlord, who rushed into the room and called Kumar’s brother-in-law, Ram Sagar.
Anjali, the daughter of the house owner, said she rushed to check on him. “My father went upstairs to see what was happening. The door was locked. His wife had locked the door from inside. We asked them to open the door. When the door finally opened, we saw him writhing in pain and his wife hiding inside the house,” she told PTI.
She added that when her father tried to intervene, the woman claimed she was taking her husband to the hospital. “But when she came out with him, she headed towards the opposite direction. We got suspicious. My father stopped her, arranged an auto, and rushed Dinesh to the hospital alone,” Anjali said.
Police were informed after receiving a medico-legal report from the facility.
Couple had history of disputes
The police added that the attack is suspected to have stemmed from a long-running matrimonial dispute between the couple. The couple, who have been married for eight years and had a troubled relationship, added the news agency’s report.
Police said Kumar and his wife, Sadhna, both from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, had been living in a rented accommodation in Madangir for several years and often argued over domestic issues.
“Our investigation revealed that the woman had earlier filed a complaint against her husband at the Crime Against Women (CAW) Cell two years ago. The matter was resolved, but she filed another complaint a few weeks ago,” an officer said.
Based on Kumar’s statement and initial evidence, a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Ambedkar Nagar police station. But no arrests have been made so far.
(Based on HT correspondent’s inputs)