Acid attack on bride-to-bein Maharajganj

A 25-year-old woman was severely injured after a masked man riding on a scooty threw acid on her in a village when she was returning home on Thursday evening with her mother. The duo had just completed shopping for the young woman’s marriage scheduled to be held on December 11, the officials said.

Lucknow Another incident of acid attack was reported from east Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district on Thursday evening. This was the second incident of acid attack reported from different parts of the state in the past two days, said senior police officials here on Friday.

Four people had been taken into custody on suspicion and were being further interrogated, a police official said. (Pic for representation)

Earlier, a 25-year-old man allegedly threw acid on a 22-year-old woman and her 45-year-old mother in a village in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

In the Maharajganj incident, a 25-year-old woman was severely injured after a masked man riding on a scooty threw acid on her in a village when she was returning home on Thursday evening with her mother. The duo had just completed shopping for the young woman’s marriage scheduled to be held on December 11, the officials said. They said the victim suffered burns on face and eyes and is undergoing treatment at BRD Medical College of Gorakhpur.

Maharajganj superintendent of police (SP) Kaustubh said the incident occurred at Tharauli village under Bitthauli police station limits when the victim woman and her mother, who had gone to Maharajganj market were returning to their village in a tempo. He said the investigation revealed that the attacker, who was wearing a mask and gloves, was aware about the victim’s movement and apparently waiting for her arrival.

“The attacker driving a scooty went closer to the girl when she and her mother started walking down towards their house and threw acid on her. The attacker fled when some villagers tried to chase him after listening to the victim’s screams,” he said.

Requesting anonymity, another police official privy to the investigation said although the victim’s family had not accused any person and feigned ignorance about the motive behind the attack, initial probe hinted towards a one-sided love affair behind it. He said four people had been taken into custody on suspicion and were being further interrogated. He said as many as 10 teams had been deployed to work out the case at the earliest after registering an FIR against an unidentified person under the Indian Penal Code section 326 A for causing hurt by acid attack.

Earlier, on Wednesday, a 22-year-old woman and her 45-year-old mother under Taarun police station limits of Ayodhya was injured when a 25-year-old neighbourhood youth allegedly threw acid on them while they were sleeping inside their house. The two injured were rushed to the King George’s Medical University’s Trauma Centre in Lucknow for better treatment, said officials. The accused was reportedly in love with the woman who didn’t acknowledge the sentiment, said police. The accused, Deepak Kumar Pandey, was arrested from his relative’s place on Thursday.