Dalit woman stripped, beaten up in Andhra

A 28-year-old Dalit woman was attacked with knives, stripped, and subjected to casteist slurs after being abducted by a couple near a village in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district. The couple also attempted to kill the woman but police’s timely intervention saved her. Cops said the victim’s brother had eloped with the accused’s daughter in March this year, which led to the assault. The woman’s mother, who was also attacked, managed to escape and alerted the police, who reached the spot just when the victim was about to be set ablaze by the accused Gangireddy Brahma Reddy (52) and Pullamma (48). The duo was arrested. The victim and her mother were filling water from a municipal water tap, when the accused couple suddenly threw chilli powder in their eyes and started thrashing them. Brahma Reddy sat on the victim’s chest and attempted to stab her in the neck, and later dragged her to their home, about 500m away from the spot. The victim was tied with ropes, doused with kerosene and asked to reveal the whereabouts of their daughter. The couple also asked her to withdraw the police complaint she had filed against them in March.