Gurdaspur acid attack: Two men get 18 and 15 years in prison

They had attacked their schoolmates reportedly after being rusticated upon their complaint to the principal.

Two years after they threw acid on a group of schoolgirls who had objected to their stalking, Sajan Masih and Lovepreet Singh of Dharmabad village in Gurdaspur were sentenced to 15 and 18 years in jail, respectively, by the court of additional district and sessions judge Gurjant Singh on Wednesday.

Santokh Singh, who was accused of supplying the acid, was acquitted even as the court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the two convicts. (AFP File Photo/representative)

Santokh Singh, who was accused of supplying the acid to them, was acquitted even as the court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the two convicts, who are in their early twenties and had attacked their schoolmates reportedly after being rusticated upon their complaint to the principal.

They threw the acid on six girls, all of whom were from their village, when they were returning home after a Class-8 exam from the government school at Singhpur village in Dera Baba Nanak subdivision on March 16, 2016. While one girl suffered up to 28% burns on her face, the others escaped with minor injuries. They were present in the court when the judge pronounced the sentence; but remained quiet.

Prosecuting counsels Vinod Basa and Varinder Basa — brothers who said they fought the case on a “nominal” fee as social responsibility — said they would move the Punjab and Haryana high court against Santokh’s acquittal.