Bhagalpur acid attack victim dies in Delhi hospital

The intermediate student in Bhagalpur who was attacked with acid on April 19 succumbed to injuries on Monday at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, where she was brought after initial treatment at a Varanasi hospital.

While two of the accused are in jail, the third has neither been identified nor arrested so far. The police are yet to submit charge sheet in the case.

On April 19 evening, when the male members of the family were at their shop and the victim was with her mother, three men barged into the house, held the mother hostage at gun point and poured acid on the student.

The victim was rushed to a local hospital where the doctors refused to touch her, given the criticality of the case, and referred her to the medical college hospital at BHU, Varanasi.

At Varanasi, her condition further deteriorated.

On the advice of the doctors, the family members shifted her to Safdarjung hospital a few days back.

In her statement recorded by a judicial magistrate recently, the victim could not give a clear reason behind the attack on her. However, preliminary probe by the police had revealed that the three men were addicts, who often assembled at a vacant place behind the victim’s house in Bhagalpur’s Alamganj locality to inhale their dose of drugs.

The three used to pass lewd comments against the local girls including the victim. Her parents had threatened to inform police if they did not mend their ways.

Rajbans Singh, DSP (city), confirmed the victim’s death in Delhi. He said the two accused arrested so far were Prince Kumar and Raja Yadav, residents of the same locality.

Before her death, the victim had identified the duo. Police also have in their possession a countrymade pistol the trio had left behind in the victim’s house while trying to flee after carrying out the attack.

Satyanarian Prasad Sah, public prosecutor, Bhagalpur court, said, “Now that the acid victim has died, as per legal provisions, Section 302 of IPC (murder) would be added in addition to section 326 A registered against the accused. There would be sessions trial in the case.”

On the provisions of speedy trial in the case, Sah said a decision to this effect needed to be taken by a committee at the district level headed by district magistrate, which also has SSP as its member.

Normally, there is recommendation for speedy trial in this type of cases, the prosecutor said.

Acid attack was recently introduced as a separate offence under the Indian Penal Code, carrying a minimum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment.