Acid thrown on woman, child in Bengal; husband held

Kolkata: A woman and her infant child were injured in an acid attack late Sunday in Nalhati police station area of Birbhum district in West Bengal.

The victim's estranged husband has been arrested for the attack, police said Monday.

"The woman and the baby were sleeping inside their house when acid was thrown on them through a window. While the woman has suffered severe burn injuries on her face and stomach, the baby too was hurt. We have arrested the husband," said a police officer.

The woman, admitted in Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital, said her husband and in-laws repeatedly tortured her forcing her to live at her parents' house.

Despite a ban on the sale of acids, the state has witnessed several incidents of vitriolage in the recent past.

According to the Acid Survivors Foundation Indian (ASFI), a non-government organisation, 83 acid attacks were reported in the state between 2006 and 2013 in which at least 121 people, mostly women, were injured.