Three Dalit sisters, all of them minors, were attacked with acid while they were asleep inside their residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district. It was a twet by the Gonda police that made the incident public. The oldest of the three, aged 17, has 35 per cent burn injuries, while the other two, aged 12 and 8, escaped with 25 per cent and 5 per cent burn injuries, respectively.
थाना परसपुर क्षेत्र के अंतर्गत सो रही 03 बच्चियों पर केमिकल अटैक की घटना के संबंध में पुलिस अधीक्षक गोंडा की बाइट।@Uppolice @AdgGkr @digdevipatan @bstvlive @News18UP pic.twitter.com/iefRhhRHS3
— Gonda Police (@gondapolice) October 13, 2020
According to the police, they have been admitted to a hospital and are currently stable, police officials said. The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday while they were sleeping on the terrace. An FIR has been registered against unknown persons, police said.
“Early morning we received information that three girls sleeping in the house were attacked by some chemical and we are trying to identify the chemical. We have sent the girls to a government hospital and they are in better condition. The hospital has made all arrangements for their treatment. The eldest girl has received the maximum burn injury. We have talked to the family members of the girls and they do not have suspicion on anyone so far. Police teams have been formed and both the forensic teams and dog squads have already investigated the crime spot. We will soon find those responsible,” said Gonda SP Shailesh Kumar Pandey.
The family members told police that at around 2 am, all the three sisters came running downstairs, howling in pain. Their father initially thought the burn injuries were from a gas cylinder, but later realised it was an acid attack. The girls’ parents recently fixed the marriage of their eldest daughter, a high school passout. She received the maximum burn injuries out of the three girls. The family does not suspect anyone so far, SP Pandey said, adding that the attacker must be from the same locality as it’s a small town.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2019 crime report, 240 cases of acid attacks and 60 cases of attempted acid attacks were reported in 2019 alone all over India.
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