A blind woman, who was pushed into a well, in what appears to be a premeditated murderous attempt, survived after shepherds heard her cries for help and rescued her after more than 15 hours, in Bagepalli village of Chickballapur district.
The police have now launched a manhunt to nab the assailant, Adappa (47) of a nearby village.
The woman, who is pregnant, has been shifted to a government hospital in Chickballapur and her condition is stated to be progressing, though she was complaining of stomach ache.
The police said the assailant Adappa lured the woman into a relationship with a promise to marry her some seven months ago. After she became pregnant, there was some pressure on him to marry her.
On Saturday night, the police said, he asked her to accompany him promising to marry. He took her to the outskirts where she pushed her into an unused agricultural well. Believing that she died, he fled from the scene.
However, the gritty woman began shouting for help but none could hear her. Only on Sunday morning, some 15 hours later, some shepherds who were passing by heard her cries and rushed to her help.
Though the woman was rescued on Sunday afternoon, the matter was reported to the police only on Tuesday morning. It was said that the family members of Aadappa approached the woman’s father seeking a ‘settlement’ of the issue, but the woman’s family declined the overtures.
Meanwhile, the Chickballapur District Association for People with Disabilities demanded that the police nab the culprit and prosecute him. “There is no question of a compromise. The accused person must be brought to book”, the association president Raghunatha Reddy said. The association, he said, would lend assistance to the family in the legal battle that lies ahead. The Bagepally police have registered a case and investigation is on.
