Mumbai court holds man guilty of acid attack on Rewari girl

Mumbai, September 6

A court in Mumbai on Tuesday held a man guilty of an acid attack on Haryana girl Preeti Rathi in 2013.

Ankur Lal Panwar, a hotel management graduate, was found guilty of offences under Sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 326 B (Punishment for attempted acid throwing) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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Rathi, whose family originally came from Haryana’s Rewari and lived in Bhakra Beas Management Board Colony in Delhi’s Narela, died of multiple organ failure in June 2013, a month after Panwar threw acid at her.

Rathi had gone to Mumbai to take up a nursing position in a naval hospital, INHS Asvini, in Mumbai’s Colaba. The incident occurred as soon as she alighted a train at Mumbai's Bandra Terminus on May 2, 2013.  

Police claimed Panwar, Rathi's neighbour, was jealous of Rathi’s professional growth.

Outside the court, Panwar's mother Kailash demanded a CBI inquiry claiming her son had been falsely implicated. "We have been implicated just because we were poor. I want a CBI inquiry into the case," she said.

Rathi's father Amar Singh Rathi hoped Panwar was awarded capital punishment. "It took three years for us to get justice but I am happy that it has been finally delivered. I hope he gets death sentence," he said.

Arguments for Panwar’s sentence will begin on Wednesday. — Agencies