UP man slits pregnant wife's belly to determine baby's gender
In a horrifying incident, a man in Uttar Pradesh allegedly split open his pregnant wife's belly to determine the gender of the baby on Saturday evening. Reportedly, the couple has five daughters and a priest had predicted that the sixth child would also be a girl. The woman is critical and is currently battling for her life. Here are more details.
According to The Times of India, Pannalal (43) attacked his wife with a sickle. An inebriated Pannalal, who is a laborer, returned to their home in the Civil Lines area on Budaun city on Saturday. He then got into an argument with his wife Anita Devi (40), fearing that their next child would also be a girl, the police said.
According to TOI, a priest had predicted that "their sixth child would also be a girl," the police said. Pannalal then attacked Anita with a sickle on her abdomen to kill the fetus after she refused to have an abortion. Their neighbors arrived at the scene and rushed Anita to the district hospital, the police said.
Anita's younger brother Ravi Kumar said, "My brother-in-law used to beat up my sister often for giving birth to five daughters. Even my parents tried to resolve the problem, but no one had ever imagined that he would take such a cruel step."
Reportedly, Anita is undergoing treatment at a higher medical facility in Bareilly. The emergency medical officer at the district hospital, Dr. Rajesh Kumar Verma, told TOI, "A woman with multiple injuries on her stomach and chest was brought to the hospital. Her injuries were grave and possibly caused by a sharp-edged weapon. We referred her to a higher medical facility given her critical condition."
Civil Lines Police Station SHO Sudhakar Pandey told the publication, "We have detained the accused and he is being questioned." The SHO said they have been waiting for a written complaint from the woman's family to register a case.
