Sunita Devi (name changed) had been given strict instruction from her husband never to take off her “pallu” (loose end of the saree used by women to partially cover their faces, especially in the rural areas).





On Sunday evening, however, Sunita’s “pallu” accidently fell while she was cooking food at her home at Nagpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district, about 325 kilometres from here.



The inadvertent act angered her husband Munna Chauhan so much that he dragged her by her hair, shaved her head and paraded her in the village after thrashing her in full public view.



“Now you will not be able to attract men....you are no longer beautiful,” Munna, who works as a farm labourer, shouted at his wife as he paraded her in the village, ignoring her pleas.



The villagers remained mute spectators to her ordeal. Munna was arrested after the neighbours informed the police.

“The wife has not filed any complaint so far... we are investigating the matter” the police officials said.



A case would be registered against the husband for this inhuman act, said the police.



The residents of the village said that Munna had married Sunita a few years ago, and the couple has since had two children.



“Munna always used to force his wife to cover her head and face while going out as well as in the house... he would often tell her that other men might get attracted to her if she revealed her face”, said a villager.