22-yr-old Telangana woman attacked with acid by partner, three arrested

Three persons were arrested by the Jagtial police on Friday on charges of an acid attack on a 22-year-old woman. B Swati, who was returning home after shopping with her sister, was attacked with acid by an unidentified man wearing a helmet on December 24.

Swati suffered burn injuries on her left cheek and is presently undergoing treatment at Nizamabad Government Hospital. The Jagtial police named Puppala Gajender Dabba, who was in a relationship with Swati, as one of the three accused, reported Telangana Today.

Gajender allegedly suspected Swati of having a relationship with another man and made a plan to attack her.

The Jagtial Superintendent of Police, Sindhu Sharma, told the media that Gajender allegedly took help from two others, Kummari Dinesh and Bantu Prakash, to carry out the acid attack. The man wearing the helmet has reportedly been identified as Prakash. 

On December 23, Gajender allegedly took Swati and her sister for shopping to Metpally. The family was celebrating the birth of a child and was returning to their home at Thimmapur village. Once the family reached the bus stand, Prakash, wearing a helmet, allegedly approached Swati and attacked her with acid. Dinesh was on a bike and both men fled the crime scene.

The Jagtial police have booked all three men under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 326 (a) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid etc), which carries a minimum of 10 years imprisonment and maximum of a life sentence. They have also been booked under sections of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Atrocities Act.

All the three accused were produced before the court and sent to judicial remand, said the SP.

Earlier, the Nizamabad Member of Legislative Council Kavitha reached out to the DSP Sindhu Shama after hearing about the incident. She reportedly asked the officers to ensure that the best treatment is made available for Swati.