Vadodara: The 24-year-old woman in Gujarat, who was brutally beaten up by her husband after allegedly losing an online game of ludo to her, doesn’t want to lodge a police complaint or file for divorce.
“She told us she didn’t want to file an FIR or for divorce,” Gopi Patel, a counsellor at 181 Abhyam — a Gujarat government-run helpline for women in distress — told ThePrint.
Patel said the woman wants to live with her husband and sort things out.
The shocking incident of domestic abuse took place last week in Vadodara’s Vemali area.
The woman and her husband, whose age couldn’t be known, were playing ludo online to pass time during the lockdown. But after the man lost the game to his wife, he began beating her in a fit of rage and left her spine badly injured.
“He had a problem with her winning the game. She was taken to the hospital (by her husband) after which she called our helpline,” Patel said.
“She called us because she wanted to retrieve documents from her home and needed our help. That’s how we got to know about the incident.”
“The couple lived independently, but since she was discharged from the hospital, she has decided to stay with her family for a few days before returning to her husband,” said Patel.
Also read: Coronavirus lockdown is a danger for victims of domestic violence. Here’s what to do
‘She didn’t want to speak to the press’
The husband works in an electronics company, while the woman takes tuition classes to support his income.
“She wanted the documents to look for work. We told her that since the lockdown is on, it was futile,” Patel said.
“We gave her the option of filing a complaint, but she said she did not wish to. She also said she didn’t want to speak with the press,” Patel added.
The incident comes in the wake of a rise in cases of domestic violence across the country amid the Covid-19 lockdown.
‘Resolved domestic abuse cases over phone’
The 181 Abhyam, set up in 2014, primarily offers counselling to women, facing domestic abuse, over phone, but also undertakes rescue operations as and when necessary.
“We present women with a set of options when they come to us, and guide them to the best one possible, depending on the circumstances. Apart from counselling and rescue, we also offer to file FIRs and help with legal aid,” the helpline’s project coordinator Chandrakant Makwana told ThePrint.
“Since the lockdown, we’ve also seen a spike in the number of cases. We are able to resolve most through our phone counselling services,” he said.
Also read: Domestic violence on the rise during lockdown, 69 complaints since 24 March: NCW