Villagers blind two criminals by injecting acid into eyes

Patna :In a gruesome act of barbarism, angry villagers in Bihar have blinded two criminals by injecting acid into their eyes, reviving old memories of the Bhagalpur blinding case when close to two dozens criminals had been blinded by the local police. Both the victims with damaged eyes have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment.

The incident took place at Hingana village under Raniganj police station in Araria district, some 315 km north-east of Patna on Sunday but was reported to the police only yesterday.

Police said a local criminal Munna Thakur had been terrorising the local villagers after his wife Indu Kumari lost the by-polls for the post of village head held on December 20. Blaming the local villagers for the defeat of his wife, the criminal had been routinely terrorising the villagers by opening fire and also assaulting them.

On Sunday, the outlaw called in another gangster and assaulted some people again while also resorting to indiscriminate fire. Irate villagers later finally got united and caught hold of both the criminals before injecting acid into their eyes. Reports said the villagers had taken out acid from the battery of a solar lamp installed at the village, put inside a syringe and then forcibly injected acid drops into eyes of both the criminals as he cried for mercy.

“The criminals had been terrorising the villagers after defeat of his wife in the elections and apparently the villagers did all that in retaliation,” the local Araria district superintendent of police, Manoj Kumar said on Tuesday adding they were investigating the case. The SP said the police force had been deployed at the village and round-the-clock vigil was being maintained to avert any further trouble.

Both the victims, in the meantime, have been admitted to a government-run hospital in neighbouring Purnia district. The doctors treating the victims said the eyes of the victims had been badly damaged due to puring of acid.

The incident has brought to fore the horrible memories of 1979-80 Bhagalpur blinding case when as many as 31 undertrials (or convicted criminals, according to some versions) were blinded by the police by pouring acid into their eyes. The incident was widely discussed, debated and acutely criticised by several human rights commissions, eventually inspiring Bollywood producer-director Prakash Jha to make a film on the blinding case, titled “Gangaajal” (roughly translated as the holy waters of the Ganges).