Man who threw acid on Delhi girl left phone with friend for location alibi
The three men who were arrested for throwing acid on a 17-year-old girl in India’s capital New Delhi on Wednesday planned the attack meticulously, police said.
On Wednesday the school going girl was attacked by bike borne assailants in West Delhi’s Dwarka area, injuring her critically.
CCTV footage of the incident shows two bike-borne men throwing something on the girl as she stood on the side of a busy road.
In a statement police said that three men have been arrested in connection with the attack.
Police identified the accused as Sachin Arora, 20, and his two aides Harshit Aggarwal, 19, and Virender Singh, 22, reported news agency Press Trust of India.
At a press conference, Sagar Preet Hooda, special commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Zone-II, said that during investigation, the involvement of Mr Arora, the victim’s neighbour and friend, was found and he was arrested.
Police then found Mr Aggarwal, who was allegedly on the motorcycle when the girl was attacked.
Mr Singh was allegedly used by Mr Arora to mislead the investigators about his location at the time of the incident, the official added.
“The acid was bought online and payment was made by Arora through an e-wallet. The girl had been a friend of Arora for a long time but they had a breakup two-three months ago and she stopped talking to him. To take revenge, he planned the attack,” Mr Hooda said.
In a later statement, the police said that the girl and Mr Arora were on friendly terms till September this year.
According to investigators, Mr Singh took Mr Arora’s scooter and mobile phone with him to another location to mislead the probe.
Police added that technical evidence during interrogation revealed that the accused had procured acid from Flipkart.
The sale of acid has been banned in India since 2013.
Women’s body Delhi Commission for Women issued a notice to the e-commerce website over the sale of acid.
Earlier this year the body had found that no inspections or raids had been conducted in two districts in Delhi on acid sale in six years.
It also found that in six districts in the capital not a single penalty was imposed.
While authorities said that the minor had suffered 7-8 per cent burns on her face and eyes, the full extent of her injuries will only be known later.
“How deep the burns are would be known between 48-72 hours of the injury. Her condition is currently stable,” said Dr BL Sherwal of Safdarjung Hospital, where she is receiving treatment.
