ROURKELA: At least four members of a family and another woman were critically injured in an acid attack by their neighbour over past enmity in Rourkela on Wednesday.
The accused Santosh Verma alias Soni was arrested on Thursday and forwarded to court. The incident took place at Sector A in Bondamunda at around 7.15 pm when Nagendra Pandey, his family members and their neighbour Phulphato Devi were talking outside their houses. The accused reached the spot on a two-wheeler with a bottle of Nitric acid, threw it at them and fled.
Nagendar, his wife Sangeeta, brother Bidyakant, mother Sulochana and neighbour Devi suffered burn injuries, while a baby escaped unhurt. They were rushed to SE Railway Hospital and later shifted to Ispat General Hospital.
DSP PK Mishra said the accused Santosh is the neighbour of Pandey family and had a bitter relationship with them. The accused was suspecting that Nagendra’s brother Bidyakant was having an affair with his wife and had warned Pandey family over this earlier.
Santosh, a goldsmith, has a criminal record for buying stolen gold ornaments and had been arrested several times. He has been charged under Section 326-A of IPC and forwarded to court. The injured were discharged from Ispat General Hospital on Thursday.
ACID WORRY FOR STATE
Despite a Supreme Court order on regulating the counter sale of acid, it continues to be sold openly in shops across the State
NUMBER OF ACID ATTACKS
2015: 5
2016: 12
2017: 13
2018: 13