Karnataka government announces ₹4 lakh compensation, to bear medical expenses of acid attack victims

Also Read: Kerala youth hurls acid at 3 girls in Karnataka PU college

‘Students are fine’

“The students are fine. I am only worried about the (ongoing) PUC exam, which I will sort out with a solution after talking to the Education Minister,” she told reporters after speaking to the three students and their families.

The students expressed their concern about whether they would be able to take the exams being conducted by the PU Board in the current examination cycle itself and requested that arrangements be made for them in this regard.

“I understand the worries and moods of the children. I also have a son studying PUC. I will meet the Education Minister,” Chaudhary said.

Doctors treating the three students said they would be fine, but two of them may have to undergo plastic surgery after normal treatment for two weeks.

On Monday, a youth — identified as 23-year-old Abin Shibi from Nilambur in Malappuram, Kerala — unleashed a horrifying attack with acid, leaving the girls with burn injuries.

Swift justice prevailed as fellow students and passersby apprehended the assailant in his attempt to escape, promptly turning him over to the police, a senior police official said.

The incident

Shibi, during interrogation, revealed his motive. He was unable to take a ‘no’ for answer when he approached one of the victims with a proposal. Vengeful that his proposal was rejected, Shibi wanted to “teach the girl a painful lesson” through the use of acid.

The assailant told the police that his intended target was only one of the young women among the three, who was enrolled in the Science stream in the college. She bore the brunt of third-degree facial burns, while the other women who were with her suffered collateral damage from the splash.

Dressed in the college uniform to gain entry unsuspectedly, Shibi, pursuing an MBA course according to police records, concealed his identity further with a mask and a cap. He approached the girls who were sitting in the college corridors, armed with a bottle containing acid and hurled it at them.

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The investigation

“All the three injured girls have been shifted to a private hospital soon after the incident, which took place when they were preparing for the Pre-University Course (PUC) exams sitting in the corridors of the college,” the police official said.

“We are investigating how he procured the uniform,” a police officer privy to the investigation told South First.
“The victims were taken to the Kadaba government hospital, but the doctors there advised the families to shift them to Mangaluru for better treatment as the burn (suffered by one of the victims) was extensive,” the police officer said.

Speaking to the media, CB Rishyanth, Superintendent of Police (SP) Dakshin Kannada district, said, “We have secured the accused. He is from Kerala. Both (the primary victim and assailant) hail from the same place. He lives in Malappuram. Her mother’s place is close to the accused’s place. It seems like that’s where they got to know each other and it looks like a case of retaliation over rejection. Further inquiry is on.”

(With PTI inputs)