On V-Day, Jaipur man throws acid on married woman for refusing marriage proposal

A 27-year-old married Muslim woman was attacked with acid at a mall in Jaipur's Jhotwara area on Wednesday, after she turned down a marriage proposal.

Police said the victim has been married for 10 years and has three children. "She has suffered 15% burn injuries on her face, hands and torso from the attack," said an investigating officer.

The victim was working as a housekeeper at the mall. "The accused, an autorickshaw driver, attacked the woman with acid while she was working on the third floor of the mall," said Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal.

The accused, 36-year-old Mehboob Khan, also suffered burns in the attack. Both of them are being treated at SMS Hospital here. A colleague of the woman also suffered minor injuries and was discharged after first aid.

Jhotwara SHO Bhupendra Singh said that Khan had been approaching the woman with frequent proposals of marriage for the last two-and-a-half years. "He again approached her on Wednesday but she refused and in reaction he threw acid at her. The accused married twice and left his wives on both occasions," Singh said.

Agarwal said, "Police has registered a case against Khan under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 326A (throwing acid) and 354D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code.".

Both Khan and the woman are residents of the city's Shastri Nagar locality. He will be arrested after he is discharged from hospital.