'Agar shor machaya': Delhi woman attacks sleeping husband with boiling oil, red chilli powder

New Delhi: As Dinesh lay asleep in his Madangir house, his wife poured boiling oil and red chilli powder on him, sending him into screams that rent the dead calm of the night.  

On October 3, a 28-year-old pharmaceutical firm worker was brought to Safdarjung Hospital with severe burns and was admitted to the ICU in a critical condition.

According to an FIR lodged at Ambedkar Nagar Police Station the same day, the man was Dinesh, whose wife poured hot oil on his torso around 3 am while he was sleeping, with the couple's eight-year-old daughter also in the house at the time. 

Dinesh told police that he had returned home late on October 2 after work, ate dinner, and went to bed. 

"My wife and daughter were sleeping nearby. Around 3.15 am, I suddenly felt a sharp, burning pain across my body. I saw my wife standing and pouring boiling oil on my torso and face. Before I could get up or call for help, she sprinkled red chilli powder on my burns," he alleged in his complaint.  When he protested, his wife retorted,

"Agar shor machaya to aur garam tel daal doongi' (if you shout, I will pour more oil on you)." 

But Dinesh could not suppress his screams.

The commotion brought neighbours and his landlord's family, who lived on the floor below, rushing to the house.  Anjali, the daughter of the house owner, was one of the people who made a run to check on him. 

"My father went upstairs to see what was happening. The door was locked. His wife had locked the door from inside. We asked them to open the door. When the door finally opened, we saw him writhing in pain and his wife hiding inside the house," She told PTI. 

Anjali said that when her father tried to intervene, the woman told them she was taking her husband to the hospital. 

"But when she came out with him, she headed towards the opposite direction. We got suspicious. My father stopped her, arranged an auto, and rushed Dinesh to the hospital alone," she said.  Dinesh was first taken to a nearby hospital, but seeing the deep burns on his chest, face, and arms, doctors referred him to Safdarjung Hospital. 

Police said his injuries have been described as "dangerous" in the medical report. According to the victim, the couple has been married for eight years and has had a troubled relationship. Two years ago, his wife filed a complaint with the Crime Against Women (CAW) Cell, but the matter was settled through a compromise. 

Dinesh's wife has been booked under sections 118 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt using dangerous weapons or means), 124 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by acid) and 326 (mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc) of the BNS.  

"No arrest has been made so far," an officer said.