Woman doctor becomes acid attack victim

Two unidentified assailants threw acid on a 30-year-old woman doctor at a crowded marketplace in West Delhi's Rajouri Garden area today.
The woman sustained burn injuries on the right side of her face and the right eye whose vision may be affected, doctors treating her at AIIMS said.
The incident was caught on two CCTV cameras installed in the street, footages of which were scanned by the police to identify the accused. The attackers could not be immediately identified as both of them were wearing helmets. They came on a bike.
According to the police, the incident took place around 9:30 AM in Rajouri Garden market when the woman was on her way on a scooty to Employees State Insurance (ESI) hospital in the same area where she worked.

"She had stopped on the spot to answer a phone call. Two youth reached the spot on a bike and tried to snatch her bag. When she resisted, the pillion rider threw an acid-like chemical on her and fled with her bag. The victim sustained burns in the incident and was rushed to the same hospital where she worked. From there, she has been referred to AIIMS," said a senior police official.
Nobody came to her rescue even after the attackers fled and her groans of pain fell on deaf ears. It was only after a couple of minutes that a man living nearby came to her rescue, informed police and her family.

She was brought to AIIMS at around 11:30 AM.

"She has chemical burns on the right side of her face and right eye. As for the vision, it can be only said after 48 to 72 hours. She is under the observation of Dr Tushar Aggarwal," said Dr Amit Gupta, spokesperson, AIIMS.
Investigators are also questioning her friends and colleagues to determine whether she had any personal enmity or somebody held a grudge against her.
"The woman is single and was not going to get married anytime soon as reported by a section of the media. She did not have any enmity with anyone and has also rejected any possibility of a spurned lover. We have registered a case and investigating it from all possible angles," said a senior police official.

The woman joined the hospital around two months ago. In Delhi, she lived in Hari Nagar along with her brother. Her father, a Deputy Inspector General, BSF, is currently posted in Madhya Pradesh.