Bihar man loses wife in bet, pours acid on her for 'purification'

Bhagalpur (Bihar): A man in Bhagalpur, Bihar bet his wife in gambling and allowed his friends to allegedly rape her after losing his stake. The husband poured acid on her when she tried to resist the assault, said reports.

The 30-year-old victim was forced into sexual relations with the men and after she resisted, her husband threw acid on her, saying he wanted to purify her.

Rajesh Kumar Jha, SHO of Mozahidpur police station, told the media that the accused husband, Sonu Harijan, was arrested and an FIR was registered against him on Sunday evening. "Due to the sensitivity of the incident, we immediately registered an FIR and arrested the accused. Further investigation is underway and other accused will be arrested if they are found to be involved in this case," Jha was quoted as saying by the media.

In a statement to the police, the accused said that he lost the bet a month ago. As per the 'commitment' made to his partners in gambling, his wife had to be "handed over" to the winners of the bet for a month but the woman refused to go with them.

Jha further added, "We are studying the statement of the victim and have arrested the accused. He has confessed that he lost his wife in a gambling bet and also forced her to have sexual relations with his gambler friends."

As the victim had sustained acid injuries, her in-laws kept her under house arrest in Mozahidpur to keep the incident a secret. However, they gave primary medical treatment to her.

The incident came to light on Sunday when the woman managed to escape from her in-law's house and reached her father's residence in Lodipur and narrated her ordeal. Her parents immediately took her to Lodipur police station where the police asked the victim to reach out to Mozahidpur police station, as per reports.

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