Police arrested a young woman last week after she took her fiance to an isolated hilltop in a southern Indian state and blindfolded him on the pretext of giving him a “surprise gift.” She slit his throat and left him to die, instead.  

Fortunately, he survived. Locals found him and took him to the hospital where he got 30 stitches. 

The incident took place on April 18 in the Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh. The two, the accused, 22-year-old Viyyapu Pushpa and the 28-year-old whose throat was slit, Addepallu Ram Naidu, were engaged through an arranged marriage agreement between their families. They were to get married on May 29. 

Police said they filed an attempted murder charge against Pushpa, who is now in judicial custody. If convicted, she could spend up to 10 years in prison.

Arranged marriage – where family elders play matchmaker – is a prevalent tradition across South Asia. It’s even embraced by Gen-Z. But studies show that many women don’t have any agency in those arrangements, resulting in a rising trend of women rejecting arranged marriages.

Pushpa has confessed to the crime, police said. She got cold feet and acted rashly, resorting to violence as a way out of her arranged marriage.

“According to her statement, she just didn’t want to get married to this guy or anyone else,” Sunil Kumar, the deputy superintendent of police in Andhra Pradesh, told VICE World News. He added that while Pushpa didn’t have any pressure on her to get married to Naidu, she was afraid to tell anyone about her hesitation, and, therefore, didn’t think out the consequences of her “immature” actions. 

In an interview with a local television channel, Naidu, from his hospital bed, said that their parents arranged their match last year.

On April 18, Pushpa called Naidu to meet her, and after having lunch at his house, she told him she wanted to introduce him to her friends. On the way, she stopped and bought something from a shop. When Naidu asked her what she bought, she told him it’s a surprise gift and took him to an isolated hilltop. There, she blindfolded him with her scarf on the pretext of showing him the gift, and jabbed at his throat with that “surprise gift”. 

Naidu told the media that after slitting his throat, he opened his blindfold and that’s when she told him she doesn’t want to get married. A doctor treating Naidu told the media that there are no deep cuts. Instead, superficial veins were cut, leading to severe bleeding. 

Now, the parents of both Pushpa and Naidu are blaming the other party for the incident. “Her parents say she is innocent, while the man’s parents are demanding justice,” said Kumar. The wedding has been called off.

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