Six teenage girls were injured in an acid attack in the Dera Baba Nanak area of Gurdaspur district in Punjab on Wednesday afternoon. The girls were returning home from school at around 3.30 pm when two youths on a motocycle threw acid on one of the girls, who is a class 8 student.
Senior Superintendent of Police Diljinder Singh Dhillon said that while the 14-year-old girl suffered around 18 percent burn injuries on her face and arm, five of her friends were also injured as some of the acid fell on them.
The girl, who suffered the most injuries, was said to be the target of the attack, and has been rushed to a hospital in Amritsar. The other young girls have been admitted to the civil hospital in Dera Baba Nanak.
The main accused has been identified as Saajan (19), a resident of Phurewal in Amritsar.
The victim had told her family that he had been stalking her for the past two-three days. Her family members had then raised the matter with Saajan’s parents, who possibly reprimanded him. Upset over this, he allegedly threw acid at her, police said.
Saajan was reportedly studying in the same school as the victim but was rusticated for bad conduct, the SSP said. A case has been registered against the accused and his unidentified accomplice and a hunt is on for them, police said.
Meanwhile, Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema directed the District Education Officer to immediately release Rs 50,000 for the girl’s treatment, personally visit her at the hospital, and report her condition to him.
Cheema directed SSP Batala to take immediate action against the culprit and told the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, to ensure special care and treatment of the victim.
(With inputs from PTI)
(Feature image is for representational purpose only. Source: Wikipedia)