Woman pays with eyes for complaint

‘‘She was always the most beautiful of my daughters. Look what has become of her now,’’ cries Vijaya Keerkanya Bhosale. ...

‘‘She was always the most beautiful of my daughters. Look what has become of her now,’’ cries Vijaya Keerkanya Bhosale. Her daughter, 20-year-old Challi, who was living at Rakshaswadi, a village 60 km off Ahmednagar, almost lost her eyes after her husband Lonya Uchaa Kale and in-laws allegedly gouged them out with a knife.

Challi had lodged a complaint against them at a local police station. However, no arrests could be made as the accused have been absconding since February 25.

According to Challi, her husband and his family started harassing her after she objected to his affair with a neighbour. On February 25, she lodged a complaint of mental and physical torture against them in the local police station. Police claim the husband and in-laws were called in and warned and they promised not to harass Challi. But the very night, Challi was beaten up and her eyes gouged out.

Story continues below this ad

‘‘The pain was unbearable. I don’t remember what happened after that,’’ recalls a shocked Challi. Soon after this, she was given a ride on her husband’s motorbike and at midnight was dumped in front of a relative’s home, 40 km away. Her relative was alerted of the situation by Lonya himself. ‘‘She was soaked in blood,’’ says Rekha, a relative.

Doctors at Ruby Hall Clinic where Challi was admitted are simply aghast at the manner in which her eyeballs were removed. Dr Parikshit Gogate says: ‘‘For the first time, I have seen something so brutal. Her eyeballs were taken out tearing apart the upper and lower eyelids.’’

‘‘Now the only question she keeps asking is ‘Doctor, will I ever be able to see again?’’’ he adds.