JAJPUR: A 32-year-old woman of Jajpur district was allegedly assaulted, tortured and branded with a hot iron by her in-laws at Kalyani village under Dhamnagar police limits in Bhadrak on Saturday.
The incident came to light after the victim’s mother, Jyostnarani Das of Dihudi Sahi-Kanikapada in Jajpur’s Dasarathpur block, lodged a complaint with Mangalpur police on Sunday.
According to the complainant, her daughter Pranati Das had married Jagabandhu Das of Kalyani village in 2016. Since her marriage, she was allegedly subjected to regular physical and mental torture by her husband and in-laws.
On Saturday, Pranati was allegedly assaulted and tortured again by her husband and in-laws at their residence. She was branded with a hot iron on her thighs, hands, stomach, back, chest, and private parts, leaving her body severely burnt and blistered, alleged Jyostnarani.
After the brutal assault, the accused allegedly brought Pranati to Jajpur in an auto-rickshaw and abandoned her a few yards away from her parents’ house in Dihudi Sahi later that night. Some villagers spotted Pranati lying unconscious with burn injuries and rescued her.
She was rushed to Mangalpur community health centre and later shifted to Jajpur district headquarters hospital (DHH), where doctors described her condition as critical. Hospital sources, however, said her condition has since stabilised.
“My son-in-law and his family members used to torture my daughter both physically and mentally after her marriage. They branded her with a hot iron on different parts of her body, including her private parts. The assault was so severe that she was unable to move or speak,” claimed Jyostnarani in her complaint and demanded strict action against the accused.
Jajpur Town SDPO Prasant Kumar Majhi said, “Acting on the complaint, Mangalpur police registered a case on Sunday and transferred it to Dhamnagar police station for further investigation.”