A 12-year-old Agra girl lost sight in one eye after her aunt allegedly struck her with a steel hairband for accidentally dropping a baby. The family accuses police of filing weaker charges.
A 12-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra lost sight in one eye after her aunt allegedly attacked her with a steel hairband. The incident happened in Humayunpur village on May 5, as per a report in the Times of India. Police said the attack followed an accident in which the girl, Sagun, a Class 8 student, dropped her one-year-old cousin while playing. The baby’s mother, Khushboo Singh, reportedly became angry and struck Sagun’s eye with the metal hairband.
Sagun’s father, Jugendra Singh, said his daughter was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for treatment. Doctors confirmed that her right eyeball was completely destroyed and she will never regain sight in that eye, reports the Times of India. Singh, a farmer, said that his daughter accidently dropped the child.
Complaint and police action
Bhongaon police station SHO Pradeep Kumar Pandey said a case was filed against Khushboo Singh under sections 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace) and 352-2 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the TOI report said. Singh alleged that police pressured him to change his statement and booked the accused under less serious charges. He said stricter action should be taken given the seriousness of the injury. In his complaint, Singh claimed that Khushboo threatened to kill him if he reported the attack to the police. The matter is now under investigation, and police say action will be taken as per legal procedure.