A 14-year-old girl was allegedly attacked by her classmate with a blade in north Delhi’s Gulabi Bagh, resulting in her receiving 17 stitches on her face, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday.
The police took suo motu cognisance of the incident after a purported video of the attack went viral on social media. In the video, the victim could be seen sustaining major injuries on her face amid a scuffle with a few girls.
“Initially, we had learned that a brawl broke out between a few girls of a government school outside the school’s premises, and that one of them hit another girl with a sharp-edged object,” a police officer said.
According to the victim’s testimony, the incident took place on April 29, when the victim and her classmates were eating lunch at 11.20 a.m., said police.
“Some girls snatched the victim’s tiffin and fled. When she asked them to return it, they started abusing her,” police said, adding that when the victim tried to pacify the situation, the verbal spat turned violent, leading to her classmate attacking her with a blade.
The victim’s family alleged that although she was attacked, nobody on school premises helped her or tried to de-escalate the situation.
“My daughter received 17 stitches on her face and her condition is still serious. After the attack, no one even helped to take her to hospital,” the victim’s mother said.
A senior police officer said that action was taken under the Juvenile Justice Act soon after police took cognisance of the video. “Since all those who can be seen in the clip are juveniles, the case is being dealt with sensitively,” he added.
