Mumbai: HC disposes petition in Priti Rathi acid attack case

Mumbai:  The Bombay High Court today disposed of a petition filed by the father of 24-year-old Priti Rathi, who was killed in an acid attack case last year, seeking CBI probe, after it was informed that the accused person has been arrested and chargesheeted. The High Court had earlier directed for investigation in the case to be carried out by the city police’s crime branch instead of the railway police. Additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai today informed a division bench of Justices N H Patil and Anuja Prabhudessai that pursuant to the order, the crime branch had completed the probe and arrested one accused. A charge sheet had also been filed in the metropolitan magistrate court, she said. [caption id=“attachment_1469705” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A victim of acid attacks. Representational image. AFP.[/caption] The crime branch had arrested one Pawankumar Gahlan in January this year for allegedly throwing acid on Priti on May 2 last year at the suburban Bandra railway station.  A Delhi resident, Priti Rathi had come to Mumbai to join Colaba naval hospital as a staff nurse. As soon as she alighted at Bandra Terminus on May 2, an unidentified man threw acid on her face at Bandra station. Priti suffered severe damage to her lungs and succumbed to injuries a month later on June 1 at Bombay Hospital.  Priti was selected for short service commission in the military nursing service and was asked to report at the naval hospital in Colaba on May 15. The police had initially arrested a person. However, he was later released as they were not sure whether he was the real culprit. Priti’s father Amar Singh Rathi had expressed apprehension that if such serious crimes were not investigated expeditiously then women would not be able to walk fearlessly on the streets. PTI