Lucknow: Woman throws bag in anger, acid splashes on girl's face

LUCKNOW: In a bizarre incident, a 13-year-old girl and two women suffered acid burns when a 60-year-old woman snatched a bag containing acid bottle from a jewellery cleaner during a scuffle and threw it on the road in Kaiserbagh on Saturday. As the bottle broke, the acid splashed over the three victims causing burns.
"The elderly woman has been detained on the complaint of the victims' families that she deliberately threw the bag towards the minor girl because of animosity with her family members.However, the accused has denied the allegation and claims it to be an accident. We are in the process of lodging an FIR," said ASP (East) Suresh Kumar Rawat.
All the three victims were rushed to the Balrampur hospital. The two women had minor injuries and were discharged after treatment. The girl, however, suffered acid burns on face and left hand. Dr Saurabh Singh in the emergency ward of the hospital said the girl is out of danger.
According to police, the accused woman had got her silver anklet cleaned by one Ramchandra Soni, who visits homes to offer services on demand, two months ago. However, she later noticed that the weight of the anklet after cleaning had reduced.
On Saturday, she caught hold of Soni and accused him of 'stealing' a layer of silver from her anklet by using acid. As Soni denied the charge, a scuffle broke out and the woman tried to check Soni's bag.
"The woman told us that she snatched the bag and upon finding the acid bottle, threw it on the ground. The three victims were standing nearby, watching the brawl. As the bottle shattered, the acid splashed on them," said Rawat.
However, the minor girl claimed the woman deliberately threw the bottle towards her. "I felt a burning sensation as soon as the liquid splashed over my face. I was lucky that my eyes were not hurt," she told TOI.
The girl's mother said she had a spat with the accused woman a few days ago, but never expected that she will go to this level.