A horrendous case of domestic violence has emerged on Sunday from Chhattisgarh, where a man allegedly brutalised his wife aged 23 to death in a village near Ambikapur, the police said. According to police, the accused bashed up his wife and then inserted an iron rod into her private parts, leading to her death. The police added that the accused tried to pass off the incident as a road accident, and fled from the hospital thereafter.

Gruesome incident reported from Sakariya village

The investigating police personnel said that the woman who was brutally tortured and died has been identified as Heerabai, a resident of Sakariya village. They said that she was allegedly assaulted by her husband, Pradeep Agaria, on May 14 inside their house.

The cops said that Agaria later transported a critically-injured Heerabai to the Medical College Hospital in Ambikapur by tying her body to the back of his bike. Upon arrival at the hospital, he told the doctors that she had sustained injuries in an accident. However, the doctors pronounced her dead upon arrival, and Agaria fled from there.

Autopsy lays bare brutality

The incident reached a disturbing turn when the autopsy report revealed grievous external and internal injuries. Doctors who led the autopsy found that Heerabai was 3 months pregnant at the time of her death. Furthermore, medical experts conducted a forensic examination, during which they recovered a 27-centimetre-long iron file-like object from her private parts. The object, as per police, has been seized for probe.

It was also learnt during the post-mortem that she had sustained grievous injuries to her head, caused by repeated blows from a heavy wooden object, resulting in skull fractures. Doctors suspect that the object may have been inserted forcibly into her private parts, leading to fatal internal injuries and also the death of the unborn child. Dr Santu Bag, head of the forensic department, said the victim had suffered ‘multiple serious external and internal injuries,’ and confirmed that the iron-like object had been recovered during the autopsy.

Kin allege long-standing abuse

Station House Officer CP Tiwari said that the accused initially tried to mislead authorities by presenting the case as that of an accident. However, forensic findings and medical evidence exposed signs of extreme brutality.

Meanwhile, the family members alleged that Agaria had a history of violent behaviour and assaulted Heerabai frequently. Relatives claimed that earlier, complaints had also been raised in the village over his abusive conduct.

The couple had married for love and were parents to four children. Their eldest child is said to be around four years old, while the youngest twins are one-and-a-half years old. At the time of the incident, Heerabai was pregnant with her fifth child. Relatives further said that all four kids were inside the house during the incident and cried for help when the assault was being executed, but no one from the neighbourhood paid heed.

Police said they have launched a manhunt to trace and apprehend the accused.