Woman attempts suicide after goons harass her, threaten acid attack

The survivor is currently in the ICU in critical condition

Harrowed by daily sexual harassment from local goons and their threats of an acid attack, a 29-year-old woman attempted suicide by excessive consumption of sleeping pills at her home in Nalasopara East on Saturday morning. She is currently in the ICU in critical condition.

She wrote a two-page suicide note blaming the goons for pushing her to this drastic step, but the cops are yet to register an abetment of suicide case. According to her husband, the Tulinj police had earlier neglected to book the goons for harassment despite his wife complaining about them four days before her suicide attempt.

'Tormented regularly'
The husband told mid-day that for two months, she had been harassed by the crooks every time she went to the vegetable market. On February 26, four days before she tried to end her life, he had accompanied her to the market, and the vegetable vendors and goons harassed her yet again. "When I protested, they threatened me with dire consequences. After returning from the market, a group of people attacked us. Two of my friends jumped to our rescue, but the gang assaulted them with bamboo rods. My friends suffered grievous injuries, one of them had to get seven stitches in his ear, and another had a cut in his arm," said the survivor's husband.

The couple complained to the Tulinj police, who registered an FIR under Sections 146, 147, 149, 324, 323 and 504 (relating to rioting, causing hurt, and intentional insult) of the IPC against the goons. However, the cops did not include the charge of harassment in the case.

"The goons began to mount pressure on us to withdraw the case, threatening my wife with an acid attack. My wife was under tremendous tension. On Saturday, she consumed sleeping pills to end her life. I realised something was wrong when she had not woken up by 10 am. I called my relatives and friends and we rushed her to Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation Hospital," the husband recalled.

Copspeak
PI (Crime) Appasaheb Lengare from Tulinj police station said the survivor had not alleged harassment. "If she had mentioned it, we would have definitely mentioned the relevant sections in the FIR. We will go through her suicide note and also record her statement. Based on her statement, we will add sections to the existing FIR, if needed," said Lengare.

The husband further alleged, "After my wife attempted suicide and held the local goons responsible, they have falsely implicated me in an attempt to murder case registered that evening."

Lengare responded to this stating: "The victim's husband has been booked under Section 307 of the IPC as he had fractured the skull of one person during the scuffle on February 26. The complainant was admitted in hospital. We recorded his statement on March 1, and registered the case on March 2 after getting his medical report."

Also Read: Male nurse arrested for sexually harassing cancer patients

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates