In yet another shocking incident from the national capital, two bike-borne persons threw acid on a 17-year-old girl in Dwarka area of Delhi on Tuesday morning. According to the Delhi Police, the girl was with her sister at the time of the attack. The girl was referred to the Safdarjung hospital where she is undergoing treatment. One person has been detained over the incident and further investigation is underway, police added.
“A PCR call was received around 9 am regarding an incident of throwing acid on a girl in the area of PS Mohan Garden. It was stated that a girl aged 17 years was allegedly attacked using some acid-like substance by two bike-borne persons at around 7:30 am. The girl was with her younger sister at the time of the incident. She has raised suspicion over two persons known to them. One person has been detained and further investigation is going on,” Delhi Police said in a statement.
The police further said that the girl is undergoing treatment at the Safdarjung Hospital where preliminary reports suggest that her condition is stable.
According to the girl’s family, the bike-borne attackers had covered their faces and are yet to be identified. The family said that they got to know about the incident when the girl’s younger sister came rushing to the house and informed them that someone had thrown acid on their elder daughter.
Also Read:
“Our younger daughter came running to the house and said that acid has been thrown at her sister. Both the boys had covered their faces, they are yet to be identified. It (acid) has entered both her eyes,” the girl’s father told news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, took note of the incident and said that a team will assure all possible help to the school girl. “Acid was thrown at a schoolgirl near Dwarka Mor. Our team is reaching the hospital to help the victim. Will get justice for the daughter. The Delhi Commission for Women has been fighting for years to ban acid in the country. When will the governments wake up?” Maliwal tweeted.
Acid attack cases in India
Acid attack cases have been frequent in India despite the Supreme Court’s 2013 ban on over-the-counter sales of the substance. A report by This Week in Asia states that 250-300 acid attacks are witnessed in India every year. The Supreme Court recently termed acid attacks as “worse than murder”.
In 2013, acid attacks were designated as a specific criminal offence. The Supreme Court later ruled that victims of acid attacks should receive free medical treatment and minimum compensation of Rs 3,00,000.
