Woman Stabs Mother-In-Law To Death, Gouges Her Eyes Out Over Incessant Taunts

Frustrated by constant taunts over not giving birth to a child, a woman in India stabbed her mother-in-law and gouged out her eyes.

The woman, 33-year-old Lalita Devi, from the northern state of Bihar, stabbed her 55-year-old mother-in-law, Dharmashila Devi, multiple times in the head before gouging out one of the victim's eyes. The incident took place Tuesday morning.

“Prima facie, the injuries seem to be the result of being hit hard by a blunt object. One of her eyes were also gauged out,” assistant superintendent of police, Sandeep Singh, on Wednesday told the Times of India.

After the murder, Lalita attempted self-immolation. She was, however, rescued by her neighbors who had rushed to the crime scene after hearing the commotion. The residents then informed the police about the incident.

"Soon after reaching the spot, police sent injured Lalita to hospital in an ambulance which was incidentally there in the village," Singh said, the Times of India reported.

Lalita suffered 40% burn injuries to her body and is now being treated at a local hospital. Her current health condition is unknown.

The two women often engaged in altercations and their relationship had reportedly turned hostile a long time ago. The victim constantly harassed her daughter-in-law for not being able to get pregnant.

Fed up with the regular taunts and harsh words, the perpetrator decided that murdering her mother-in-law was the only way out, the police said.

Dharmashila's husband, who was not in the house when the incident took place, has filed a complaint against his daughter-in-law. No information was revealed about Lalita's husband.

During the investigation, the police retrieved a blood stained knife and an eye from the crime scene.

Lalita hasn't been arrested yet and it is unclear as to what charges she would be facing once she is out of the hospital.

"Investigation is and on and necessary action will be taken against Lalita," Singh added.