D.K. police question acid seller over attack on girls

The Dakshina Kannada police have questioned a person from Coimbatore from whom Abin, 23, who has been accused of throwing acid on three government preuniversity college girls at Kadaba on March 4, purchased the acid.

During the questioning, Abin reportedly told the Kadaba police that he had purchased the acid from the person in Coimbatore, who deals with chemicals. The police team went to Coimbatore and brought the seller to Kabada. The police found that seller had licence to sell sulphuric acid and other chemicals. After recording the statement of the seller about the sale of acid to Abin, the police produced him before the local magistrate, who also independently recorded the same statement under oath under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code.

The police have recorded statements of acid attack victims and also of their classmates, including the five students who chased and caught Abin soon after the attack. The police have seized the acid thrown at the victims and sent the samples for testing at the Forensic Science Laboratory.

Abin was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate on Tuesday and he was sent to Mangaluru District Prison for 15 days, the police said.

Meanwhile, the 17yearold II PU student and her two classmates, who suffered burns, are still undergoing treatment at the private hospital in Kuntikana in Mangaluru. The district officials said treatment expenses of the victims is being met under the Ayushman Bharath Arogya Karnataka Health Insurance scheme. The district administration is waiting for issuance of wound certificate from the hospital to send proposal to Legal Services Authority for release of compensation to the three victims.

Abin was reportedly unhappy with the 17yearold girl for refusing to love him. The 17yearold girl suffered about 20% burns, while two other girls suffered about 12% and 10% burns in the attack.