Madurai: A woman appearing for a divorce hearing was critically injured after her estranged husband attacked her with a sickle outside the Padmanabhapuram family court in Kanyakumari district on Tuesday.
Jerlin Prema, 32, was walking towards the court with her younger brother, Jerin, when Vincent Raj, a mason from Eethavilai near Thuckalay, intercepted her near the entrance and repeatedly slashed her with a concealed sickle.
Investigators said other criminal cases were pending against him. Lawyers who intervened were threatened with the weapon. Raj fled, but advocates and members of the public chased him for about 150m, caught him on Palace Road and handed him over to Thuckalay police. Prema, who worked at a shop, married Raj about eight years ago. The couple have a son. Following marital disputes, she moved to her parents’ home in Ponmanai and filed for divorce. Police sources alleged that Raj had frequently assaulted her. Police registered a case of attempted murder and arrested Raj.