In a horrific incident that has come to light in Muzaffarnagar, UP, a 30-year-old woman faced an acid attack by the four men following her refusal to withdraw her rape complaint filed against them.
According to the reports, the 30-year-old woman has suffered 30 per cent burns and she is currently undergoing treatment at a Meerut hospital.
Reportedly, the four men, who are also accused of raping the woman barged into the woman’s house on Wednesday night and demanded that she withdraw the complaint she had filed against them in a court for committing rape. As she refused, they poured acid on her, said Circle Officer Girja Shanker Tripathi of Shahpur police station.
The four men involved in the acid attack on the woman have been identified as Arif, Shahnawaz, Sharif and Abid of Kaserva village, said Tripathi.
“All four men are absconding but we will nab them soon,” he added. The woman had earlier filed a complaint in a court here, accusing the four of raping her some time back, he said.
The woman had filed the complaint in the court instead of approaching the police as the woman had earlier lodged a complaint with the police but the case was closed by the police citing no evidence of rape against the victim.
Following the attack on the woman, the police have now registered a case against the perpetrators under section 326 A of the Indian Penal Code. The provision entails a jail term of 10 years on conviction.
The FIR has also been lodged under IPC section 323 (causing hurt), 452 (trespassing into one’s house with an intention to assault him or her), 504 (criminal insult) and 506 (criminal threat), the police officer said.
The heinous incident is being reported days after the gut-wrenching Unnao incident, in which a 23-year-old victim was killed after she was set on fire by pouring kerosene on her allegedly by five men, including the duo who are accused of raping her a year ago.
The victim was attacked on early hours of Thursday by the accused when she along with her family were on their way to a court in Rae Bareli to attend a hearing in the rape case. The five men also included the two who were accused of raping the woman in December.
The 23-year-old woman died on Friday night after hours of fighting at the Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi. She was earlier admitted to a Lucknow hospital on Thursday with 90 per cent burns and was later airlifted to Delhi for further treatment.
The cases of rapes against women are coming out in the public at a time when there is a raging debate regarding the failure of the justice delivery system in the country leading to situations similar to Hyderabad encounter in which the police officials encountered the four accused who had raped and murdered the 27-year-old veterinary doctor.
