People protest against acid attack outside Home Minister's residence

Protests were held outside Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s house and Delhi Police headquarters on Wednesday over the acid attack on a 30-year-old doctor in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden. No arrest has been made yet in the case.

Heavy police deployment was put in place and barricades were set up, but over 200 protesters marched towards Singh’s house.

The Indian Youth Congress were demanding a clarification on the “severely deteriorating” law and order condition in the capital.

The protest, which started around 12.30 pm, continued for about an hour.
The protesters were stopped by police a few hundred metres away. Around 30 of them were also detained and taken to Parliament Street police station.

“Narendra Modi had promised a lot with regards to women’s safety and security in the country. This was one of their main agendas during campaigning, but even after more than six months in power, the Modi government has failed to take a single step to ensure security and dignity of women in the country,” said Dr Harsh Vardhan Shyam, IYC General Secretary.

Outside Delhi Police headquarters in central Delhi, a group of Stop Acid Attacks campaigners said incidents of violence against women across the country and specifically in the capital have seen an alarming increase.

“Such acts are being perpetrated right under the nose of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister while Delhi Police have completely failed to provide any security to women in Delhi,” said acid attack survivor Laxmi.

On Wednesday, the 30-year-old victim was examined at AIIMS around11.30 am.
Amrit Kaur, a senior resident doctor with ESI Hospital in Basai Darapur, was on the way to the hospital when she was attacked with acid by two motorcycle-borne assailants.

“She had chemical injury in the right eye and the right side of the face. The eye injury was classified as Grade IV which denotes the highest degree of severity,” said Dr Amit Gupta, AIIMS spokesperson.

She is being treated under Dr Tushar Agarwal, Additional Professor of Ophthalmology and Cornea expert at AIIMS.

On Thursday, Amrit showed slight improvement in the condition of the eye. Her facial skin injuries are being treated by Dr Maneesh Singhal, Plastic Surgeon from AIIMS’s Department of Surgery.