Faridabad couple held for pouring boiling water on woman after she refused to marry 65-year-old man

Police said the woman was confined at the couple’s home for three days without treatment and is now stable at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital.

Days after a 23-year-old woman was hospitalised after her uncle and aunt in Faridabad poured boiling water on her, allegedly for refusing to marry a 65-year-old man, police on Saturday said they arrested the couple.

The suspects, aged 45 and 42, allegedly forced the woman to perform household chores and are accused of demanding ₹3 lakh for a marriage. (File photo)

The 45-year-old uncle and his 42-year-old wife, both residents of Gaddha Colony in Kureshipur, had fled soon after the incident on August 16. They were arrested in Kureshipur on Friday.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said prima facie there was strong evidence against the couple for inflicting severe burn injuries on the woman and confining her in their house for three days without treatment.

“Both suspects were forwarded to judicial custody on Friday. Further investigation is underway to ascertain allegations that they were forcing the woman to marry an elderly man in lieu of ₹3 lakh,” he said.

Police said the investigation revealed that the 23-year-old woman separated from her husband around two months ago and moved in with her uncle and aunt. However, there were frequent disputes between the woman and her aunt over petty issues.

According to officials, the aunt coerced the 23-year-old to cook food for them daily and perform household chores. However, when the young woman resisted, her aunt poured boiling water on her while she was asleep around 4am on August 16. Then she locked her in the room.

The matter came to light when the victim’s estranged husband and her maternal uncle discovered her condition and alerted the police on Wednesday night. She was rescued by the police the same night.

Police said the victim is currently undergoing treatment at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital and is reported to be stable.

On the victim’s complaint, an FIR was registered against her uncle and aunt under sections 124 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid), 127(2) (wrongful confinement) and other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Dhauj police station on Thursday.