The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Married man pours acid on a colleague

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 20, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Married man pours acid on a colleague

Staff Reporter

The victim called off engagement to the accused after learning about his marriage

A VICTIM OF DECEIT: Savitha narrating to the police how the attack took place, at K.R. Hospital in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: A man attacked a 23-year-old woman, an HAL employee, with acid in Girinagar police station limits on Wednesday as she refused to marry him.

The police said Savitha, who sustained burns on her right arm, has been admitted to a hospital and she is out of danger.

The police said that around 6 a.m., Ms. Savitha, a resident of 11th Main, Nagendra Block, left her house to board the factory bus to reach her office. After she had walked a few metres from her house, Nagaraj (35), her colleague, allegedly threw acid at her and ran away. Passers-by rushed Ms. Savitha to a nearby hospital.

According to the police, Ms. Savitha, the youngest of her five siblings, had been working as a contract employee in the Helicopter Division of the HAL for four years. Three years ago, she and Nagaraj, a native of Rangenahalli in Tarikere taluk of Chikmagalur district, had decided to get married and her family agreed to the same.

Nagaraj was allowed to stay at her house in Nagendra Block. At the betrothal ceremony held in December 2005, the family decided to perform the wedding in March, the police said. But Ms. Savitha's family learnt that Nagaraj was married and the elders asked him to leave the house. But Nagaraj continued to nag Ms. Savitha to marry him. Apart from making a few phone calls, he confronted her at the workplace and tried to force her to marry him, the police said. As Ms. Savitha remained firm, Mr. Nagaraj allegedly attacked her with acid, the police said. The Girinagar police are on the lookout for Nagaraj.

Case to be filed

The Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW) has decided to file a case in the court seeking direction to the State Government to check acid attacks on women and take preventive steps.

Referring to the acid attack on an HAL employee on Wednesday, Sushma of the organisation said: "This is the third case in the State in the last four months. Since acid is easily available, they use it to not only disfigure the woman, but also leave a permanent scar psychologically."

The organisation has demanded that there should be a check on availability of acids and special courts should be formed for such cases so that victims get quick justice and compensation.

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