The trauma of being stalked

“She had slapped one of the boys, and they had promised to take revenge”.

The assailants who forced a 16-year-old girl to consume a “corrosive liquid” had been allegedly stalking her for days together.

So scared was the girl, that she had not attended school for 20 days feigning health problems. Later, she had told her family members about the harassment.

“She had slapped one of them, and they had promised to take revenge. She had even narrated her ordeal to one of her teachers. The latter should have informed us and the police,” said the mother.

The teacher in question is yet to be identified.

Pushed to the border

The girl had even considered quitting the school and opting for open schooling to complete Class X, the mother further alleged.

Abha Bhatnagar, the vice-principal of the school, was unavailable for comments.

Notice sent

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued a notice to the school based on the statement of the girl’s mother.

“A 16-year-old girl student of your school is battling for life in Safdarjung Hospital after having been allegedly forcibly ingested acid by her stalkers. It has come to the knowledge of the Commission that the victim was persistently stalked by some individuals for the past some time. Further, the undersigned was informed by the victim herself that the girl child had informed her school teacher, Ms. X that she was being harassed by some persons, almost a week before this incident occurred,” reads the notice.

Reminding the school that the allegations, if true, can invite legal action, the Commission has sought a response on the action taken within 48 hours.

DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal also visited the girl at the hospital on Thursday.