A 26-year-old woman carried out an acid attack on her 21-year-old neighbour, who was about to marry a man with whom the accused was having an affair, police said on Wednesday. The accused has now been arrested.
The acid attack, also by a well-known neighbor years ago, sent chills across the national capital.
The victim is currently undergoing treatment at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for facial burns and is also said to be suffering from her eyesight.
How did the accused carry out the attack?
The families of the accused and the victim had known each other for years, according to the victim’s younger sister. She added that the 26-year-old accused was a frequent visitor to their house, HT reported earlier.
The victim was scheduled to marry her fiancé, whom the accused was allegedly in love with, on April 19. The accused was reportedly upset by this news.
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On Tuesday morning, she visited the victim’s house around 10 a.m., spent time with her family, and had breakfast with them.
At noon, she came home again. The victim’s 18-year-old sister said that this time she asked the victim to put “henna on her hands because she was going to attend a wedding.”
The accused then took a cup out of her bag and said it was an energy drink. Meanwhile, the victim was applying henna to her hands when the accused asked her to sit on the wall.
The victim’s sister added: “Then she took another sip from her bag and claimed it was lemon water.” She also said that the accused suddenly threw the liquid on her sister’s face and upper body.
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The sister quoted the accused as saying at the time of the incident: “Now you are drinking this.”
The family said that the liquid penetrated the victim’s skin as she screamed and rushed to wash while her clothes were burning.
Meanwhile, neighbors were able to arrest the accused, who tried to flee, outside the house. Shortly after, the police arrived and arrested her.
The accused cannot accept the lover’s marriage
The police revealed that during interrogation, the accused allegedly said that she had been in a relationship with the victim’s fiancé for years, and that she could not accept the idea of his marriage.
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A senior police officer said they had not yet questioned Al-Khatib. However, they cited phone records to confirm that he had been in contact with the accused.
The accused was in a depressed state
The defendant’s 28-year-old sister revealed that she had been receiving treatment for depression for nearly a decade.
She added: “She used to have uncontrollable bouts of anger. Earlier, she wanted to pursue law, but recently she wanted to become a teacher after obtaining her degree in primary education. The police took her medical records.”
The police also registered a case under Section 124 (1) (causing grievous injury by acid) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Gokalpuri police station, following which an investigation was initiated into the matter.
