Easy availability of acid on Amazon, Flipkart flagged by DCW after teen attacked

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has written to chief executive officers of Amazon and Flipkart after a teenage girl in the national capital was attacked with acid. "The accused bought acid through Flipkart", the women's panel highlighted in its letter. It also expressed concern that "acid is easily available on Amazon and Flipkart, which is illegal". The panel has sought urgent steps in this regard.

In the letter, the women's panel has asked the online shopping giants: "Please inform the reason for the availability of acid on the e-shopping platform. Please provide complete details of the sellers who have placed acid as a 'product' on your platform." The panel has also sought a copy of the licence for selling acid online, and a copy of the policy adopted by the firms on sale of government regulated products. It has also asked if the photo IDs of those who bought acid were sought.

On Wednesday morning, the 17-year-old was on her way to school with her sister when two men on a bike threw acid on her in west Delhi's Mohan Garden area. The entire incident was caught on CCTV and sparked huge outrage. Three men were arrested in the case hours after the incident. The teen is reported to have suffered 8 per cent burn injuries and she was admitted in the Safdarjung Hospital in the city.

The key accused in the case - Sachin - lives in the same locality as the girl. As per Special Commissioner of Police Sagar Preet Hooda, the man started stalking the girl after she rebuffed his advances three months ago, HT had earlier reported. “Sachin ordered the acid on e-Commerce website Flipkart, and was with with his friend (Harshit Aggrawal) while attacking the girl. The bike used in commission of crime and a phone have been recovered,” the cop was quoted as saying in the report. Sachin Arora's friends Honey (19) and Virender Singh alias Sonu (22) are also suspects in the case.

From Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, the case prompted condemnation from top leaders. The LG sought a detailed report from police commissioner Sanjay Arora.