The son of a retired IAS officer has been arrested for allegedly attacking a woman with bricks after she refused to marry him in Bithur district of Uttar Pradesh.
The victim, a widow who works at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K), suffered serious head and facial injuries in the assault by Devashish Nigam, son of retired IAS officer Chandra Nigam, news agency PTI reported.
The woman is now undergoing treatment at Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital. According to the police, she regained consciousness about 24 hours after the accident.
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Alleged assault after an argument
According to the police and the First Information Report (FIR), the incident took place on Saturday when Nigam picked up the woman in his car from near the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur campus and headed towards Brahm Ghat in Bithur.
Police said Nigam pressured the woman to marry him while driving. However, when she rejected his offer, an argument broke out between the two.
According to preliminary investigation, Nigam stopped the car near Model Dairy along the railway service track and allegedly attacked the woman with bricks.
When the woman tried to protect herself by locking the car door, Nigam smashed the window, dragged her into the road and repeatedly hit her in the head and body, investigators said.
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Local residents intervened and handed the accused over to the police
The police said that residents rushed to the scene after hearing the woman’s screams, arrested the accused and handed him over to the police.
The victim’s sister alleged that Nigam was constantly pressuring her sister to marry him and had made threats in the past.
“He was claiming that no one could touch him because his mother was a retired IAS officer,” she said.
Police identified Nigam as a resident of Raj Tower in Swarup Nagar. Officials confirmed that his mother, Chandra Nigam, is a retired IAS officer.
According to officials, Nigam got married in 2014 and also has a daughter. But he has reportedly been living separately from his wife for the past six months. The victim is a widow and has a teenage daughter.
Police investigations are ongoing
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Qasim Abidi, said that a case has been registered against the accused on charges that include attempted murder and voluntarily causing serious harm.
The Public Prosecution said: “The accused was arrested on Sunday and all aspects of the case are being investigated.”
Video clips showing the assault and the families confronting the accused appeared on social media and sparked intense anger.
