Stalker among 3 held for throwing acid on woman

AMRITSAR :A day after two motorcycle-borne men threw acid on a 23-year-old woman in Thoba village of Ajnala tehsil, around 40km from district headquarters, police arrested three men, including her stalker, on Saturday.

The accused have been identified as the lover, Inderjit Singh aka Sonu, 24, of Sangatpura village, his cousin brother, Jobanjit Singh, and Sukhbir Singh of Sangatpura. Sukhbir is accused of selling acid to the men. As per a April 2014 notification by the Punjab government, there is a ban on open sale of acids.

The victim was returning home after attending college. As soon as she alighted from a bus, the Inderjit and Jobanjit, with their faces covered, followed her on a motorcycle and threw acid at her. Amritsar rural SP (operations), Shailendra Singh, said she sustained 8-9% burn injuries and the acid was thrown on the right side of her face.

Amritsar rural SSP Parampal Singh said, “A special investigation team under the supervision of senior police officials was formed. During investigation, the team found that the accused Inderjit was obsessed with the victim and wanted to marry her. The victim and her family had turned down the proposal.”

He added, “We have also recovered the TVS Victor motorcycle (PB-08-D-9490) used in the crime. The accused have confessed. Inderjit planned the attack after his proposal was not accepted. They led us to Sukhbir, the shopkeeper who sold them the acid.”

“We have written to the district administration to provide free treatment for the victim. The process of giving compensation has also been started,” he added.

A case has been registered at the Ramdas police station.