Acid attack survivor targeted again within 2 years

A teenage girl in India, who survived an acid attack about two years ago, underwent the same horrifying and painful ordeal again recently.

In a repeat of the previous incident, an unidentified attacker poured acid on her forehead while she was asleep in the night.

The latest incident took place at her sister's house, a few blocks away from her house in Dindigul city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The previous incident had taken place at her parents' house. On both the occasions, the victim, who is in grade 12, said she could not identify the attacker/s because of darkness, but she noticed a male figure.

On Friday (4 August), after the latest attack, she told The New Indian Express newspaper that she was sleeping near the door at her sister's house. The house was under construction and so, the door was missing. She suddenly felt a hand on her head and as she opened her eyes, the man held her down and poured the acid on her forehead.

She added that all she remembers from the encounter was excruciating pain and a tall, burly man vanishing in the darkness.

Hearing her screams, her sister alerted the other family members. The victim was taken to a nearby private hospital, from where she was moved to another hospital on Sunday. The hospital informed police of the incident and a case was registered.

The victim's father had not filed any complaint after the first acid attack incident, which took place when the girl was preparing for her grade 10 exams. The father had reportedly argued then that since they did not have enemies, there was no need to register a police complaint.

However, following the latest incident, police have launched an investigation and are trying to nab the culprit.

Authorities have reportedly said that they were still unable to ascertain what acid was used in the attack. It is also not clear if both the attacks were carried out by the same person or two different people were involved, police said.