Delhi boy forced to drink acid, two held

New Delhi: A 17-year-old boy was forced to drink acid by a group of people, a day after a scuffle over shortage of paneer at a dairy store here, family members said on Thursday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said, "Two suspects have been detained this (Thursday) evening in connection with the incident and they're being interrogated." 

A police officer privy to the case identified the victim as Yogesh Sagar and said the incident took place in Sangam Vihar area of south Delhi on Tuesday night.

Sagar is recuperating at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) but has not yet begun talking, his father Babulal, 43, told IANS.

Babulal said they ran a dairy story on Ratiya Marg of Sangam Vihar and lived on the first floor of the same building. 

"On Monday, around 9 p.m, two people came to our shop and asked for paneer (cottage cheese). When he (Sagar) said that paneer is out of stock, they came inside the shop started searching inside the fridge," Babulal said. 

This led to an altercation followed by a scuffle between Sagar and the two persons, who left after threatening him.

Around 11 pm on Tuesday, as Sagar was closing the shop, some nine persons pounced on him, according to the victim's family.

"Two of them held him at gun-point while another forced acid down his throat," Babulal said. 

As the family came downstairs on hearing Sagar's screams, they found him lying on the floor and the acid bottle lying next to him. 

He was taken to a nearby hospital which referred him to the AIIMS. 

The family said the accused lived nearby and used to frequent the shop, adding that there were several cases registered against them.

"Although he hasn't started talking yet, he conveyed what happened that night through actions," Babulal added.