A 17-year-old youth was arrested in Varanasi on Sunday for allegedly throwing acid on a 19-year-old woman after she stopped answering his phone calls, police said.
Both the victim and the accused are natives of Ayodhya, they added.
The woman moved to Varanasi about eight months ago for work and eventually ceased all communication with him, police claimed. Believing she was involved with someone else, the boy allegedly carried out the attack, they said.
“Driven by jealousy, the accused searched online for ways to procure acid and eventually purchased it,” said a police officer associated with the investigation.
Police identified the teenager using CCTV footage from cameras installed near the spot.
The victim had been working as a housekeeper at a hotel in Varanasi since moving there. According to police, the victim’s younger sister said that on August 3, they were returning home from the hotel when a man approached from behind and threw some corrosive substance on the victim’s face. She suffered burns and was taken to hospital for treatment where doctors stated her condition was stable.
Reviewing CCTV footage from cameras near the scene, police spotted a boy whose involvement was later confirmed. When his photograph was shown to the victim’s family, her younger sister identified him as the attacker.
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Police said the boy confessed to the crime, saying the remaining acid was still in his school bag.
During questioning, the 17-year-old told police that was in a relationship with the victim for the past few years. He became upset when he discovered that she was in contact with another young man and decided to “teach her a lesson”, it is learnt.
