SILCHAR: A 28-year-old driver in Assam’s Cachar barged into his neighbour’s house, raped the 30-year-old woman in front of her two children and poured a chemical substance believed to be acid on her body before running away on January 22, police said.
The woman is battling for life at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH).
A case was registered on January 23 on the information provided by her eldest child, a six-year-old boy.
“My two kids saw the entire torture and they are also traumatised,” the woman’s husband, who was not at home when the incident took place, said.
He shared details of the case on Wednesday, saying he wanted justice for his wife and the arrest of the man who destroyed their lives.
The husband said his wife had snubbed the suspect on January 21 evening when he forced his way into their home while he was away and asked her to share her phone number. She bluntly refused and told him to leave. The suspect eventually left, but also threatened to harm her.
On January 22, when the husband returned home, he saw his wife on the floor, her mouth, hands and feet were tied and an acid-like substance was on her body, the husband told journalists.
“We rushed her to a nearby government hospital but the doctors asked us to take her to SMCH. We called the police but they asked us to visit the police station the next day,” he said.
On January 23, the husband lodged a First Information Report (FIR) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Dholai police station.
Dholai police station officer-in-charge Jonpan Bey said they were making efforts to trace the accused. “He is absconding but our search operation is going on. The victim is undergoing treatment and we’ll record her statement after consultation with the doctors,” Bey said.
Bey said the victim has alleged that she was sexually assaulted. “Once we get the test reports from SMCH, we may add some more provisions,” he added.
The rape survivor’s husband said that the accused had misbehaved with women in the area in the past.
“He targets married women, asks them to share numbers and also writes objectionable things about women. On multiple occasions, such issues were settled by local people by conducting meetings but he didn’t stop all these activities,” he said.
SMCH superintendent Deba Kumar Chakraborty declined to comment on the details about her injuries.