Teenage girl attacked with acid, three held

New Delhi, December 14

Two masked men on a motorcycle threw acid on a 17-year-old girl, who was attacked minutes after she left her home for school on Wednesday morning, the police have said.

The girl is battling serious injuries at Safdarjung Hospital’s burn ICU.

The teenage girl was with her younger sister when the attack took place at Mohan Garden near Uttam Nagar here.

The girl has suffered seven to eight per cent facial burns and her eyes have also been affected. Her condition is said to be stable.

The CCTV footage of the incident showed two masked persons throwing acid at the girl, the police have said.

The police have arrested three persons in connection with the attack. They have been identified as Sachin Arora, Harshit and Virender Singh.

The police said Sachin and Harshit threw acid on the 17-year-old girl.

The police further said the accused had purchased acid from Flipkart.

Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Sagar Preet Hooda told the media Sachin and the victim were friends till September. They fell out and this led to the accused to attack her, Hooda said, adding that he lived in the girl’s neighbourhood.

As outrage spread over the acid attack, women’s groups and Lt Governor VK Saxena raised questions on the availability of acid in markets despite a ban. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked how the accused could have gathered so much courage.

“The L-G has instructed for swift and thorough investigation so as to ensure exemplary punishment to the guilty. The L-G is in touch with the hospital authorities and has urged them to ensure the best treatment. He has also assured all possible assistance to the victim and her family,” the handle Raj Niwas Delhi, run by the L-G Secretariat, said on Twitter.

Swati Maliwal, DCW chief, said: “It is unfortunate that despite repetitive recommendations of the commission, the retail sale of acid is not banned. It is as easy to obtain acid as it is to purchase vegetables!”

L-G seeks report from police

The Lt Governor spoke to the Police Commissioner about the unfortunate incident and sought a report on how acid was procured despite a ban in the city. — Raj Niwas Delhi