KOLKATA: A youth chopped off his wife’s right palm in East Burdwan’s Ketugram on Sunday after she secured a government job.
Renu Khatun, the victim, recently got the job of a nurse in a state-run hospital after preparing for it for the past three years. She was to join the service next week.
"Her husband, who is a grocery shop owner, and in-laws were against Renu’s dream of working as a government employee. Mohammad and his parents are presently at large," said an officer of the local police station.
Mohammad first smothered Renu with a pillow and then severed her palm with a chopper, said police. "After Renu fell unconscious, Mohammad took her to the local hospital hiding the severed palm at home. The incident came to light after the woman became conscious and narrated her plight," said the police officer.
Renu’s father Azizul Haque said his daughter used to work in a private healthcare unit before marriage. "Her husband and in-laws were against her decision to work. Recently, she was selected for the post of a nurse in a government hospital. Renu complained me that her in-laws and Mohammad wanted her not to join the service. I never imagined that she would have to pay such a price for achieving her goal," he said.
During the course of investigation, police came to know that Mohammad told his friends that Renu might leave him after joining the government hospital.
On hearing the incident, Azizul and his son Ripan Sheikh rushed to the hospital from where they shifted Renu to a nursing home.
Armed with the complaint lodged by Azizul and the statement given by Renu, the police went to Mohammad’s house only to find it locked. "They are absconding. We carried out searches at the houses of their relatives but they were found nowhere," said another police officer.