West Bengal: Man throws acid on estranged wife as she drops kid at school

KOLKATA: A man attacked his 29-year-old estranged wife with a screwdriver and allegedly poured acid on her face and neck on Thursday. The incident took place outside a government-aided primary school in Kasba, where the victim had gone to drop their child, a kindergarten student.
Witnesses said the five-year-old boy, too, got injured when some acid fell on him.
The school was celebrating its foundation day and several guardians and their wards were waiting for the morning school to begin. At least two of them — a woman and her child — managed to escape with very minor injuries as the chemical hit them, too.
Irate parents, who witnessed the incident, chased the accused — an electrician by profession — and handed him over to the police. The accused was arrested by police and slapped with specific IPC sections pertaining to acid attacks.
The mother and the five-year-old were taken to MR Bangur Hospital. The child was, however, allowed to leave after being administered primary treatment.
“The victim, a resident of Bosepukur Road, had brought her son to school on BB Chatterjee Road around 11.45am on Thursday. Suddenly, her husband came to school and attacked her with a screwdriver on the back of her head. When the victim tried to evade the assault, the accused allegedly threw some chemical, which the victim said was muriatic acid, usually used to clean bathroom. The victim sustained injuries and was rushed to MR Bangur Hospital,” said joint CP (crime) Murlidhar Sharma.
Bangur hospital doctors confirmed an injury by a screwdriver and were examining the acid burns.
Cops from the Kasba police station have slapped IPC sections 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid).
“It was around 11.45am and we were waiting for KG classes to begin from noon. We saw the couple arguing on RK Chatterjee Road, about 100m from school. We had not noticed the victim earlier as it was only in January this year that she had enrolled her son in this school. The man suddenly attacked her with a screwdriver and kept hitting her on her head. The woman started bleeding profusely,” said a parent.
“By the time a few of us could intervene, the man had drawn out a glass bottle and thrown some liquid on her. She started screaming and ran towards the school to save herself. At that time, at least 30 parents were waiting in front of the main gate. The accused then filled a plastic with the acid and threw it at the woman again. She almost fainted on the road. One side of her face, neck and shoulder suffered burns,” said Purnima Ghosh, a guardian.
Cops said the two had married 11years ago, but a couple of years ago, the accused began suspecting his wife of having an illicit affair. The couple has three children. The eldest son stays with the accused. The other son and daughter stay with the victim at her parents’ place. “The confrontation was after the two argued over the alleged affair,” said a source.
Cops also seized the acid and the container.