Acid attack in Gurugram hospital linked to revenge over relationship, woman held

Investigators said the suspect mistook another patient for her target after tracking her movements to the Civil Hospital in Sector 10.

A 25-year-old woman was arrested on Monday for allegedly throwing acid on another woman inside the Gurugram Civil Hospital premises in Sector 10 on Sunday night. Police stated the accused, Sakshi, a resident of Patuhera Bawal in Rewari, mistook her victim for her husband’s ex-girlfriend.

Police said the accused had earlier assaulted the intended target outside a residence before tracing her to the hospital later that night. (File photo)

According to police, Sakshi purchased acid, meant for toilet cleaning, to take revenge on the 20-year-old original target from Nuh. The intended victim had arrived at Subhash Nagar in Sector 5 on Sunday to meet relatives when Sakshi along with her husband and three friends allegedly assaulted her, police said. The woman was subsequently rushed to the Civil Hospital with head injuries, they added.

Upon learning her target was at the hospital, Sakshi arrived around 8 pm after taking a lift on a two-wheeler. “Sakshi, in a fit of rage, started tracing the victim, her intended target, and somehow got to know that she had been taken to the hospital,” said Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram Police. He added that she carried a photograph of the intended victim, showing it to people while searching.

Inside the emergency ward, Sakshi spotted a woman wearing similar coloured clothing and threw acid on her from behind before fleeing. The actual victim was a 32-year-old woman who had been admitted after being allegedly assaulted by her live-in partner. Initially on Monday, the live-in partner was detained on suspicion of the acid attack. While he admitted to the assault, he denied throwing acid. Two separate cases for assault and acid attack were registered against him by midnight at the Badshahpur and Sector 10 police stations, they added.

A thorough scan of hospital CCTV footage revealed Sakshi moving suspiciously, leading to her arrest. She allegedly confessed to throwing acid on her husband’s former girlfriend when it finally became clear to police that she had mistakenly injured another woman as they were wearing clothes of the same colour. Later, a separate FIR was registered against Sakshi and her three friends for assaulting her husband’s former girlfriend, the intended target, at the city police station. Sakshi is the only person charged for the acid attack for which an FIR was registered under sections 124(1) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc.) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Sector-10 police station, in which the injured victim’s live-in partner was earlier an accused.

Following her arrest, Sakshi complained of abdominal pain during a medical check-up. Doctors discovered she is pregnant, and she was subsequently admitted for treatment. The original target told police she had stopped contacting her ex-boyfriend upon learning he was married and had previously filed a complaint after he uploaded her private pictures online.