Man, wife sentenced to 11 years in jail by Delhi court for acid attack on a woman

A 23-year-old man and his wife have been sentenced to 11 years in jail by a Delhi court for throwing acid on a woman on her refusal to marry him three years ago.

The victim had refused to marry the man, Radhey, and said the couple was allegedly involved in flesh trade and wanted to drag her into it.

Additional Sessions Judge Satinder Kumar Gautam convicted Radhey and Anita for the offence punishable under section 326 A (acid throwing) read with 34 (acts done by several persons with a common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each to be paid to the survivor.

"Court is of the view that prosecution has fully proved its case against both these accused persons for the offence punishable under section 326A/34 IPC for causing acid injuries...by throwing acid and as such, accused persons namely Radhey and Anita are held guilty...and are convicted accordingly," the court said in a recent order.

According to the prosecution, the acid attack survivor, who was then 20 year-old, and her father had met Radhey in 2015 in Haridwar during the Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage of devotees.

Radhey had told her that he was resident of Nanital and was residing in a rented room with his wife in Ghaziabad.

While returning from the yatra, they exchanged phone numbers and started talking with each other, the complaint said.

It further stated that Radhey had asked the woman to marry him and said that his wife Anita had no objection to the marriage.

The victim later came to know about the couple's alleged illegal flesh trade activities and that they wanted to drag her in the same, according to the complaint.

It said they started pressurising her for marriage. In 2016 both the accused called her from another number and asked her to come to a place.

When the victim went there they again pressurised her to marry Radhey, which she refused. Following this, they threw acid at her and fled the spot. She suffered permanent disfiguration of the face and both her arms.

The accused had denied the allegations and claimed trial.