An 18-year-old girl suffered 40 per cent burn injuries after her male friend's sister allegedly threw acid at her for refusing to marry her brother in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar on Thursday evening, said police.
The girl sustained burns on her face, chest and limbs. She was admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and her condition was stated to be serious but out of danger, said police.
The girl, in her statement to police alleged that her friend, Radhe Ram, was also present when his sister, Anita, allegedly threw acid on her. She alleged that Ram held her from behind when Anita threw glass-filled acid on her face. The brother-sister duo was pressurising the girl to accompany her to a temple in Ghaziabad and marry Ram.
"We have been to the police station and an FIR has been registered in this matter. The Commission is currently devoting its attention in ensuring that the accused is arrested. Further, a DCW counsellor has been deputed to focus on the care of the victim," said DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal.
A senior police officer said Anita and Ram are absconding after throwing acid on the girl. Teams have been formed to trace and arrest them. One team has been sent to locate their home in Ghaziabad. The two were booked under section 326A (acid throwing) of the IPC. The FIR was registered at the Gandhi Nagar police station.
According to the girl's mother, her daughter works in an import-export factory in Gandhi Nagar and earns Rs 6,000 per month, the only income to support a family of eight.
Her father and three sisters are suffering from tuberculosis.
"Ram had met my daughter and husband last year when they had gone to Haridwar on Kanwar Yatra. He befriended them and exchanged their number. Ram started visiting us since then but we did not know he wanted to marry my daughter," the girl's mother said.
Her daughter knew Anita as she had worked with her daughter for a brief period in the same factory.
On Thursday around 3pm, the mother said, Anita called her daughter on her mobile and told her that she wanted to meet her. Anita asked her when she would be returning home after work. Around 7 pm, Anita called the girl again and asked what route she was taking to return home.
"My daughter told Anita that she was near Dhundhela Chowk. Suddenly, Anita and Ram arrived and stopped my daughter. Anita asked her to accompany them to Ghaziabad and marry Ram in a temple. When she refused, Ram grabbed her from behind and Anita threw acid on my daughter's face," said the girl's mother. The two fled the crime scene, leaving the injured girl screaming in pain.
A local, who knew the girl, helped her reach home. The family called the police control room before taking her to the hospital.