A minor girl was allegedly forced to drink acid by unidentified persons in southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji area on Wednesday. Police have registered a case under IPC Section 326(A) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc) against unknown persons and is investigating the matter on the complaint of the victim’s mother.
According to a senior police official, the girl, a Class X student of a school in Kalkaji, complained of stomach pain after she reached school in the morning and was admitted to hospital.
The school authorities informed her mother and took her to Shubham Hospital from where she was later discharged and taken to her home in Sangam Vihar.
However, just two hours after it, her mother took her to Safdarjung Hospital alleging that she was forced to drink acid by unidentified men near her school. She also alleged that the men were harassing and stalking her for the last one month, police said.
“Prima facie, it doesn’t look like a case where the girl was forced to drink acid. There were no external injuries on the girl’s body and she is fully conscious and is talking with her mother,” said a senior police officer.
“We haven’t been able to corroborate the incident. The auto driver who dropped her off to school didn’t mention about the girl being followed or being forced to drink anything. The CCTV footage from the area also didn’t show that the girl was being stalked or forced to consume something. We are investigating the matter,” said the officer.
Police said a sample of the liquid that was fed to the girl has been sent for forensic examination and the results are awaited.
“The girl’s mother is claiming that the girl was being harassed for the last one month and she had even stopped going to school because of the constant harassment. However, she resumed school after being called by the authorities and yesterday, she was allegedly forced to consume two bottles of acid by her tormentors,” said the officer.
Police have not ruled out possibility of a “suicide bid” by the girl.
“The girl’s parents are going through a divorce and she was allegedly depressed about her parents’ separation. She could have consumed something under depression. It cannot be said with surety whether she attempted suicide,” added the officer.