UP man pours acid on sleeping family after woman refuses marriage demand

BAREILLY: A married man with five children allegedly entered a neighbour’s house through the rooftop and poured acid on a sleeping family of four in Bareilly’s Shergarh town around 4am on Saturday after the woman repeatedly refused his demand to marry him, police said.

The victims — Har Prasad, his wife Lakshmi, and their sons Abhishek, 2, and Anand, 4 — suffered severe burns and were referred to the district hospital in critical condition.

Police said Umesh Kashyap, a resident of Dungarpur locality, reached the family’s house before dawn, entered through the rooftop and poured acid on the four while they were sleeping under a mosquito net.

Neighbours and family members rushed the injured to a community health centre, from where doctors referred them to the district hospital due to the severity of the burns.

Lakshmi told police that Kashyap had been pressuring her for marriage despite being married and being a father of five children. She said she had repeatedly rejected his demand, after which he allegedly nursed a grudge and carried out the attack.

Police recorded her statement at the hospital and registered an FIR under BNS sections 124 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid) and 333 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint).

Bareilly SSP Anurag Arya told TOI that police teams had been deployed to arrest the accused. “Two teams have been formed to nab the accused. Raids are being conducted and the accused will be nabbed soon,” he said.

Police said they were checking the accused’s possible movements after the attack and questioning people in the locality to establish the sequence of events. Officers added that further sections could be examined depending on the medical reports and statements of the injured.