Notices Sent To Flipkart & Amazon; Delhi Girl's Attackers Had Bought Acid Online
The three accused of throwing acid at a 17-year-old schoolgirl in Delhi and leaving her in severely injured in a hospital, reportedly ordered the chemical from the online shopping site Flipkart. This deadly attack revealed that how easy it is to acquire acid , online or at any retail shop, despite Supreme Court banning its sale.
The Delhi Commission for Women has sent notice to both Flipkart and Amazon over the "easy availability of acid".
The victim was on her way to school in southwest Delhi's Dwarka region on December 14 when the accused passed by on a bike and one of them threw acid on her. A CCTV video showed, the teen then recoiling, and running in pain.
As per reports, the attack was planned by Sachin Arora, 20, who had a fallen out from a relationship with the girl in September. He was assisted by Harshit Aggarwal, 19, and Virender Singh, 22.
Sachin and Harshit were the ones who threw acid on the girl while Virender relocated Sachin's scooter and mobile phone to another location to create an alibi and mislead the police.
All three were arrested within 12 hours, though they tried their best to escape from the police.
They accused claimed that they had ordered the acid online. Sachin Arora bought it from Flipkart and made the payment using his e-wallet, said senior police officer Preet Hooda, citing technical evidence.
In the year 2013, the Apex Court had banned the sale of acid at any shop in order to curtail the rise in acid attacks. The court had also put in place regulations for those selling acid which stated that only licensed shop-owners can sell acid, they must be registered and they must keep a register of those buying acid from them. Those buying acid also need to give a reason and ID proof.
Delhi women's panel chief Swati Maliwal said buying acid is "as easy as buying vegetables".
She further tweeted that, "It is unfortunate that despite repetitive recommendations of the commission, the retail sale of acid is not banned. Acid is being sold openly in markets, unchecked. In fact, it is as easy to obtain acid as it is to purchase vegetables! The government must ban retail sale of acid,"
