In a suspected case of dowry harassment, a 31-year old woman from Punalur in Kollam, suffered serious burns in an acid attack allegedly by her husband.
The crime came to light on Wednesday when a local news portal reported it.
The accused 43-year-old Binukumar, a native of Chengannur in Alappuzha, is absconding after the incident.
Dhanya Krishnan, a native of Piravanthur in Punalur, was subjected to the attack on June 6 at Binukumar’s house in Karaykkad, Chengannur. She has been under treatment at the Taluk Hospital, Punalur for a week and is yet to fully recover.
The couple got married ten years ago. They have two daughters, a nine-year-old and a five-year-old.
Dhanya claims that she has been subjected to harassment over dowry ever since marriage. “I was at my house with my children for two months as it was school vacations. I returned to Karyakkad in the first week of June. On the day of the attack, my younger daughter was sleeping at Binukumar’s brother’s house which is near our house. I asked Binukumar to take my child back home, but he refused. When I objected, he began to beat me. He continued beating me till there was an injury on my head. After a while, he tried to pour acid on my face. As I took up a defensive posture, the acid didn’t fall on my face but on my body causing burns on my right breast and body,” Dhanya told The News Minute.
“Ever since we got married, he used to assault me asking for more dowry, with the support of his mother. I suspect the acid attack was a part of that. I don’t know from where acid was stored in the house. It must be a deliberate attempt and the attack was well planned,” she says.
Dhanya had hidden the cruelty from her family fearing it would mentally affect her father who is bedridden. “How can I come and stay in my house forever with my two daughters. I suffered everything silently thinking of the poor financial condition of my family. My relatives came to Chengannur and shifted me to a hospital. At that time, they didn’t allow my elder daughter to come with me. I want her back, I won’t trust a man like this to take care of a daughter,” she adds.
Binukumar is a worker at a welding workshop.
The crime was reported to the Punalur police from the Taluk hospital. On June 10, they transferred the case to Chengannur police. “The search for the accused has been intensified. We couldn’t find anybody at their home when we went there yesterday,” Chengannur police said.