VIJAYAWADA: A man was taken into custody on Sunday for allegedly attacking a woman with acid for rejecting his marriage proposal. The woman’s son (11) and niece (15) also sustained burns in the incident that took place at her house in Itavaram village of NTR district, early on Sunday. The trio was shifted to a private hospital in Vijayawada.The accused has been identified as Mani Singh, an auto driver by profession, from Nellore.
According to NTR district commissioner of police Kanthi Rana Tata, the victim, a widow, befriended Mani through Facebook eight months ago. Over the past few days, Mani had been asking the woman to marry him. However, she rejected his proposal after reportedly learning that he was suffering from tuberculosis and stopped talking to him.
Perturbed by the rejection, the accused planned to kill her. He reached her residence in Ithavaram village on Saturday night and stayed in her house. “On Sunday around 4 am, he entered into a heated argument with the woman over the marriage proposal and threw acid on her. Her son and niece were also injured in the incident,” CP Rana explained.
Based on the woman’s complaint, Mani was taken into police custody and a case was registered against him under IPC Sections 326 (A) (B) and 307.“The accused had purchased acid from a goldsmith in Nellore. A detailed investigation is on,” the CP said.
On learning about the incident, State Women’s commission chairperson Vasireddy Padma, NTR district commissioner of police (CP) Kanthi Rana Tata and other officials visited the hospital in Gollapudi to meet the woman and the children, and inquired about their health condition.
They assured the woman that the accused would be punished in less than a month.“The accused Mani Singh planned to harm the woman for rejecting his marriage proposal. It is requested that women to be cautious while making friends online or talking to strangers,” Padma said.