Gujarat Woman Forces 11-yr-old Girl to Dip Her Hand in Boiling Oil to Prove She is Not Lying

A woman in Gujarat's Patan district allegedly forced her 11-year-old neighbour to put her hand in a pan of boiling oil to prove that she was not lying, police said on Thursday. The police on Thursday arrested the accused, Lakhi Makwana (40), in connection with the alleged incident that took place in Santalpur town of Patan on Wednesday, an official said. The Gujarat State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Jagrutiben Pandya has asked the district collector to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report. In a video shot after the incident and circulated on social media by one of the girl's neighbours, the victim, who suffered burns on her right palm, was seen crying and narrating her ordeal.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Pandya said, "I have been informed that the Patan police have already registered a case in this regard. I have instructed our district child protection officer to visit the victim's residence and check the treatment being given to her. I have also asked the collector to submit a report after conducting an inquiry from his side." Based on a complaint filed by the girl's father, the accused was arrested and a case was registered against her on charges of assault and criminal intimidation, Santalpur police station's sub-inspector N D Parmar said. He said an investigation has revealed that the woman and the victim's family are neighbours, and around 10 days ago, the girl saw the accused talking to an unidentified man outside her house.

"On Wednesday morning, when the girl's parents were not at home, the accused asked the girl if she had told others about her conversation with the man. Even though the girl denied, the accused took her inside her house and asked her to dip her hands in a pan of boiling oil to prove that she wasn't lying," the official said. When the girl tried to escape, the accused allegedly threatened to kill her and forcibly put her right palm in the pan containing boiling oil, he said.

"Another neighbour rushed the girl to a hospital as her parents were away at work. She was later discharged after treatment. The accused woman, who fled after the incident, was eventually arrested," the official added.

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