Lucknow, April 27: The father and brother-in-law of a newly-married woman have been arrested for strangling her and making her drink toilet cleaner.
The woman was found naked in the bushes on the Lucknow-Delhi highway on Wednesday.
The accused had poured toilet cleaner on her face in order to disfigure her and conceal her identity.
SSP (Bareilly) Prabhakar Chowdhary said the woman, Munni Devi, a resident of Dhadha village under Shahi police station limits of Bareilly district, was found lying in an injured state under Fatehganj West police station.
The woman, was spotted by some passers-by who informed the police. She was rushed to a hospital where she is battling for life.
“Tota Ram, the father, and her elder sister’s husband, Dinesh, have been arrested for making her forcibly drink acid and throttling her. The accused committed the crime due to ‘social humiliation’ caused by the woman’s illicit relationship with another man,” the police official said.
The woman was unable to speak due to her burn injuries and confirmed her identity by writing her name on paper, after which the entire story behind the incident came to fore, said the officer.
Circle officer (Meerganj) informed media persons that Munni Devi was in a relationship with one Ajay Kumar for many years, but her family members did not approve of it.
Her father said she had eloped with Ajay Kumar twice in the past, added the CO.
He said the woman’s family forcibly got the woman married to one Devendra of Badaun on April 22 and she was shifted from Bareilly.
But she remained in touch with Ajay Kumar. The woman’s father stated she was even found talking to Ajay Kumar on phone when they reached there and was adamant on living with her lover despite getting married to another person, said the CO.
The CO said the woman’s father and brother-in-law took her along when Devendra expressed desire not to live with her.
