An Idukki native has been arrested for hurling acid at his wife over an altercation on Tuesday afternoon. The accused man, identified as Anil Kumar, was arrested by the Murickassery Circle Inspector in the wee hours of Wednesday. On Tuesday, he hurled acid at his wife, Sreeja (38), who is the Vice President of the Vathikudy Panchayat in Idukki.
The incident took place after Sreeja returned from a Panchayat meeting on Tuesday. “The couple had an argument as the man was unnecessarily doubting his wife. He was angry as she did not inform him that she had gone for a Panchayat meeting. During an argument, the woman called him a ‘good for nothing person’, following which he threw acid at her,” Circle Inspector of the Murickassery PS told TNM.
The accused attacked the survivor with formic acid used in rubber plantations that he found nearby. Immediately after the attack, the victim ran to the house and washed her face. She was then shifted to a hospital in Vathikudy and later to a specialised centre in Thodupuzha.
Meanwhile, Anil was arrested at 3 am on Wednesday by the police after a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged. He has been booked under section 326 A of the Indian Penal Code, which lays down punishment for acid attacks. He will be produced before a court on Wednesday.
According to data on the National Crime Records Bureau, Kerala sees a significant number of acid attack cases among states in India. In 2017, Kerala and Odisha were the fourth highest states in terms of acid attack cases reported. Thirteen cases were reported in the state that year.
In 2016 too, Kerala recorded 13 cases and ranked fourth highest in the country in terms of acid attacks. In both these years, nine of the 13 attacks were against women. Other south indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka recorded only five and four cases in 2017 respectively.