UP man throws acid on ex-wife for refusing to do 'halala' with brother

A 34-year-old man threw acid on his ex-wife when she refused to do 'Halala' with his elder brother, prompting authorities to arrest him, police said on Wednesday.

The victim, Nasreen, 32, was living with her parents after her husband gave her triple talaq about a month ago, they said.

Ishaq, the accused, on Tuesday came to meet her and started pressurising her for 'halala'.

When she refused, he threw acid on her which he was carrying in a bottle inside a bag, Nasreen told police.

The woman, who suffered serious injuries on her face, was admitted to the district hospital, and the accused was arrested later that day and sent to jail, police said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Bareilly) Satyarth Anuruddha Pankaj, who visited the hospital, said arrangements have been made for proper treatment of the victim.

Nasreen in her complaint said after giving her triple talaq the accused had been pressurising her and his elder brother for 'halala' to bring her back home, which both she and the elder brother had been refusing.

Halala is a practice in which a woman, after being divorced by triple talaq, marries another man, consummates the marriage, and gets divorced again in order to be able to remarry her former husband.

The victim said she did not file a case against triple talaq to keep her family intact but Ishaq took it as her weakness and sent her messages that he wanted to accept her as his wife again but she must undergo 'halala' with his elder brother.

The couple had got married 11 years ago and has two daughters, according to police.

The accused, who used to work as a labourer, spent his wages on alcohol, which pushed his wife into work, and she started making kites at home to make ends meet.

According to Nasreen's complaint, a fight broke out between the husband and wife a month ago when their younger daughter fell ill, and Ishaq, under the influence of alcohol, thrashed her, and gave her triple talaq.