Man throws chemical on two minor girls after tiff with father

POLICE SAID THOUGH THE ACCUSED’S TARGET WAS THE FATHER, HE MISSED HIS AIM AND THE BOTTLE LANDED ON THE TWO MINOR GIRLS

NEW DELHI: A 26-year-old man on Saturday night threw some chemical on two minors and their father in west Delhi’s Vishnu Garden after an altercation.

Police said the accused, identified as one Ragho Mukhiya, was in an inebriated state when the incident took place.

The girls, aged 14 and 11 years, sustained 20-30% burns and were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment. Their father escaped with relatively minor wounds. The girls are out of danger, the doctors treating them said.

The accused, Mukhiya, was arrested after the police cordoned off the area and interrogated more than 200 people who matched the description provided by the victims, Vijay Kumar, DCP (west), said.

“The accused had brought the chemical from a steel polishing unit he worked at,” said the DCP when prodded about the source of the chemical that caused the burns.

The father of the two girls owns a small business in west Delhi and lived with his wife and daughtersinVishnuGarden.The family was preparing to attend a relative’s wedding when the father noticed a man drinking right outside their house and asked him to move away.

After being asked to move away, the accused Mukhiya started arguing with the father of the girls. The argument soon turned into a scuffle, leading to a commotion that drew the attention of neighbours. Mukhiya fled the spot when some neighbours arrived to take him on.

Fifteen minutes later at 11pm, as family was setting out to go to the wedding venue, Mukhiya allegedly intercepted them and hurled a bottle of chemical at them.

Police said though Mukhiya’s target was the father, he missed his aim and the bottle landed on the two minors, who sustained severe burns. The father escaped with minor burns and rushed his girls to a hospital in Paschim Vihar from where the girls were referred to Safdarjung Hospital.

The police said they had a vague description of the assailant after the incident. “Since we were told that the accused appeared to be a labourer, we cordoned off the area and began questioning all labourers as well as tenants and servants living there,” said the DCP.

Whilethepolicewerechecking the houses, they came across a man who tried to hide under a blanket on seeing the policemen. He was nabbed and later identified by the victims as the man who had attacked them.

The accused, a native of Sitamarhi in Bihar, has told police that it was under the influence of alcohol that he attacked the family.