An alleged stalker of a second-year Delhi University student threw acid on her in North West Delhi’s Ashok Vihar on Sunday, police said.
The police got a call from Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital. “The police were told that a 19-year-old woman, a resident of Delhi’s Mukundpur, was admitted with acid burn injuries,” DCP (North West) Bhisham Singh said.
On the day of the incident, the victim, a student of School of Open Learning, was walking towards another college where she was taking extra classes, police said.
Three men arrived on a bike, the police said, adding that one of them was an acquaintance of the woman.
“The victim stated that she had gone to Laxmi Bai College in Ashok Vihar to attend extra classes. While she was walking towards the college, Jitender, a resident of Mukundpur, along with Ishan and Arman, arrived on a motorcycle. Ishan allegedly handed over a bottle to Arman, who threw acid on her. The victim, in a bid to protect her face, sustained injuries on both hands. The accused fled the spot,” DCP Singh said.
“I just wanted to save my face. When they arrived, I spotted the bottle in their hand. I sensed something (wrong), and just covered my face with my bag. The acid fell on my hands, stomach… I screamed,” she said, flanked by her mother and her younger brother on either side, at the hospital.
“An elderly man came towards me, and took me to the hospital,” the woman added.
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“The accused has not been arrested yet … Doctors said it will take at least a week before they can further assess the (his sister’s) injury,” the brother said.
A police officer said that the woman had known Jitender for a long time. “They also had a heated argument about a month ago,” the officer said.
The victim said that Jitender, who is married and a father of two, had been following and stalking her for over a year.
“I complained to his (Jitender) wife last month. Instead of talking to him, she put the blame on me. I got so scared that I stopped getting out of my house,” the victim added.
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“The stalking had stopped in the past month,” she also said.
Based on the statement of the victim, the police have registered a case and a probe is in progress.
The woman was shifted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and is currently under treatment, police also said.
The SFI condemned the incident, calling it “a reflection of systemic negligence and indifference” by authorities. The outfit demanded swift action against the perpetrators and “accountability” from DU and other officials.
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The ABVP said it considers the attack extremely unfortunate and condemnable. “Such incidents in and around the university campus are a matter of serious concern from the perspective of the safety of female students,” it said.
DUSU members Aryan Mann and Deepika Jha also visited the victim in hospital.
