Acid attack on Dalit woman in UP's Sambhal, condition critical; son blames village head

A Dalit woman was allegedly taken hostage and beaten up for hours. As she resisted, goons poured acid over her, causing critical injuries at Mandawali Rasulpur village in Sambhal area in Uttar Pradesh, alleges son of the acid attack victim.

Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh):A Dalit woman sustained serious injuries following an acid attack in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. She was admitted to the government hospital in critical condition from where she was referred to a health centre in Sambhal. The police registered a case under the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act against three accused.

Manoj Singh, son of the acid attack victim, accused the head of the village of resorting to the acid attack out of electoral rivalry. He alleged that the village head had targetted the woman as her family did not vote in his favour. Manoj Singh also accused the police of not taking any action against the accused and that this incident would not have happened had the official taken prompt action. The incident took place in Mandawali Rasulpur village under the Anchoda Kamboh police station limits.

Elaborating on the incident, Manoj Singh said, "The goons dragged my mother to the fields. They took her hostage and beat her for hours. When she resisted, they poured acid on her". Manoj also said that on an earlier occasion, the village head had sent goons to beat his father, after which they lodged a complaint with the police. The police did not take action at that time as well, he added.

Police station in-charge Pushkar Singh Mehra said that based on a complaint, a case has been registered against Deepu, Bhishma and Rahul and against three others who were yet to be identified. Strict action will be taken against the accused, he said.