3 daughters, no son: UP woman beaten, hands broken by husband, in-laws

Shahjahanpur: A woman was mercilessly thrashed by her husband and in-laws in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur for not bearing a male child and giving birth to three daughters in eight years of married life. Police said both hands of Rekha Devi, 30, were fractured in the beating.

"The woman has suffered serious injuries and we are waiting for the medical report. Action will be taken against the suspects," Superintendent of Police (Rural) Subhash Chandra Shakya said on Tuesday.

The family also kept Rekha in captivity and did not allow her to talk to her parents.

The incident only came to light recently after her parents dropped by for a visit and found her in an injured condition.

They took her to a hospital and filed an FIR against her husband and in-laws, Shakya said.

Rekha was married to Shailandra Kumar eight years ago. Her husband and in-laws started physically abusing her after she gave birth to a third daughter some months ago, the official said.

On March 30, Shailandra, his brother, Jitendra Kumar, and other members of the family beat her up, fracturing both her hands. She was again assaulted on April 4, police said.

A complaint was filed against Shailandra, his brother, Jitendra, his father, Dataram, and mother, Reshma Devi. The four were booked under section 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to someone) of the IPC and various sections of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and the Dowry Prohibition Act, Shakya said.

(With PTI inputs)