Nellore teen attacked with acid dies in Chennai hospital after five-month ordeal

A 14-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh, who was attacked with acid and had her throat slit by her 34-year-old cousin, passed away two days ago after fighting for her life for five months. The incident happened in her house in Nellore district on September 5, 2022. She was shifted to Apollo Hospital in Chennai soon after the incident, where she underwent treatment for the past five months. She passed away on Tuesday, January 31. Nagaraju, the girl’s cousin, has now been charged with murder. 

Following the attack, Nellore police had said that it was unclear if the accused had sexually assaulted her. Director General of Police (DGP) KV Rajendranath Reddy had told The Hindu in September last year that vaginal swabs of the girl would be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to ascertain sexual assault. Nagaraju was however booked under provisions of the POCSO Act for sexual assault, besides attempt-to-murder, and the case was transferred to the Disha police station, which deals exclusively with cases of violence against women. Speaking to TNM on Thursday, February 2, Nellore Disha Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Suresh Babu said that the certificate from the FSL is yet to be received, and is expected to arrive in the next ten days. “After the girl passed away, I went to Chennai and got the post-mortem examination done. The case has now been altered to include murder charges,” DySP Suresh Babu said. 

According to details shared by the Nellore police with the media in September last year, the attack happened when the girl was alone at her home. Nagaraju was in a drunken state at the time of the attack and was trying to steal gold ornaments and valuables from the house, police had said. When the girl tried to escape from him and went into a bathroom, he dipped a cloth in the acid and pressed it into her mouth and face. He then slit her throat, and assuming that she was dead, stole some valuables and left the house. After he left, the girl managed to walk out of the house to seek help from neighbours. While she was unable to speak properly, she indicated through gestures that she was attacked by her cousin, the police had said.