Uttar Pradesh: Man who threw acid on three minor Dalit girls in Gonda arrested

He was caught a few hours after chief minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and asked for tough action against those responsible for the act

A man suspected of throwing acid on three Dalit sisters, aged 8, 12, and 17, in Gonda district was arrested after being shot at during an exchange of fire with the police midnight Tuesday, the police said Wednesday morning.

The motorcycle the suspect was riding when he was caught by the police. (Sourced)

The police said the suspect, Ashish alias Chotu, suffered a bullet wound in the right leg and has been admitted to a community health centre for treatment.

He was caught a few hours after chief minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and asked for tough action against those responsible for the act on Tuesday night.

Gonda additional superintendent of police (ASP) Mahendra Kumar said the suspect’s name had surfaced in the investigation when one of the three girls revealed that he had been “troubling” the oldest sister for quite some time and pressuring her to talk to him. He said the suspect lived near the girls’ house in Paska town.

Kumar said the police exchanged fire with the suspect near Baikunth Nath College on Colonelganj-Hujurpur road when he was returning to Gonda from his sister’s place in Bahraich. He said the suspect’s motorcycle skidded while he tried to flee after spotting the police team.

He said the suspect opened fire on the police team, following which the police fired back. He said the team recovered a countrymade firearm and cartridges from the suspect’s possession.

Early Tuesday, the suspect had attacked the three sisters with an acid-like caustic fluid while they were sleeping inside their house. The oldest sister suffered major injuries with 30% burns on her face, eyes and chest, while the other two suffered minor injuries with 5% and 7% burns on their harms, respectively. The sisters were attacked when they were sleeping in a room on the second floor of the house; the attacker is believed to have climbed up the ide of the wall to throw the chemical at them from the open window.

The police said doctors had confirmed that all three girls were out of danger.

The police also took forensic experts’ and a dog squad’s help to track the suspect. The girls’ family had not voiced suspicions about anyone, but it was apparent that some local people familiar with them were involved in the incident, the police said.