A 35-year-old Dalit woman's nose was allegedly slashed and her husband was beaten up by two members of an upper caste family at Renvjha village in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.

Narendra Singh, 32, and his father Sahab Singh beat up the woman's husband on Monday when he refused to go to their house and do some work, inspector R S Bagri of Surkhi police station said.

When the woman was taking her husband to a hospital, Narendra and Sahab attacked her too, the police officer said.

Madhya Pradesh Women's Commission chairperson Lata Wankhede claimed that the woman's nose was cut.

Inspector Bagri said that she had sustained an injury to the nose, and police were waiting for the medical report.

The incident came to light yesterday when the woman went to a camp organised by the MPWC in the area to hear complaints of violation of women's rights, and narrated her ordeal to Wankhede.

The MPWC chief told reporters that the accused, who wanted to make the woman and her husband 'bonded labourers', had cut the woman's nose.

She had directed the police to arrest the accused and take strict action in the case, Wankhede said. Bagri said the police registered a case under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code and also under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and were looking for the accused who were absconding.

"The woman is being treated at a hospital. We are waiting for doctor's report about the injury to her nose. If the report confirms serious injury to nose and internal injuries, harsher sections will be slapped against the accused," the inspector said.  --  PTI