Three sisters attacked with ‘acid’ in Gonda

Three Dalit sisters aged 8, 12 and 17 years were attacked with a chemical, suspected to be acid, while they were sleeping inside their house in Gonda in the early hours of Tuesday, said police. No arrests have been made in the incident as yet.

Officers said the preliminary inquiry suggested that the caustic liquid was thrown from the open window of the house. The eldest sister suffered major injuries on her face and chest while the other two girls got minor burns on hands. They said all three had been admitted to the Gonda district hospital where they are being treated and investigation was underway.

They said doctors were confirming about the chemical used in the attack.

The officials confirmed the three sisters were from the dhobi (washer-men) community and fell under the Scheduled Caste category.

A police official at the DGP headquarters in Lucknow said the incident took place in Paska village under Paraspur police station limits of Gonda at around 2.30 am on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. He said initial probe revealed that the girls were sleeping in a room on the second floor of the house and the attacker climbed up to throw the chemical from the open window.

He said the sequence of

events suggested that the attacker knew that the girl slept on the second floor. He said the police team was yet to trace the attacker and reason behind the crime. The eldest girl, the officer added, would probably help in tracing the accused and clarify the reason behind the attack.

Sharing further details, Gonda superintendent of police (SP) Shailesh Kumar Pandey said the doctors had confirmed that all three girls were out of danger. Two girls had suffered 5 to 7 per cent burns while the eldest one suffered nearly 30 per cent burn injuries.

He said all arrangements had been made for their treatment and police teams were investigating the matter with the help of forensic experts and dog squad.

The SP added that one of the three sisters said one Ashish was pressuring the eldest sister for interaction. He said the suspect was missing from his house and efforts were on to trace him.