An employee with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) was attacked on her way to work by two men on motorbikes. She was walking to the bus stop in the morning to begin her duty in Peenya, when the acid was suddenly thrown on her. The culprits escaped on the motorcycle, leaving Indira to scream for help from passers-by.
The Hindu reported that the victim is from Tumakuru district, and works at the Peenya bus depot. Her husband is also an employee with the BMTC.
The victim was rushed to a hospital in Hessarghatta and is now admitted to the ICU. Police are waiting to record the victim’s statement after she recovers.
Police suspect that the attackers were waiting for Indira as this is her usual route to work.
The victim’s husband told Deccan Chronicle that there was a previous attempt to take her life in a hit and run incident by her relatives, but they had not succeeded. However, a case was not filed with the police at that time. He told DC that these people are the main suspects. The Bagalgunte police are investigating all angles of the case, and are looking into local CCTV footage of the incident.
In a 2017 pan-India survey undertaken regarding the number of acid attack victims in each state, Karnataka recorded four cases. The survey found that Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of such cases, with 56 acid attacks being reported. The data was taken from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).