Amid the nationwide outrage over the alleged gang rape and brutal murder of a Dalit teen in Hathras, three minor sisters, hailing from the same community, were attacked with acid in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, about 150 kilometres from Lucknow.
According to the police sources here, the sisters, aged 17, 12 and eight respectively, were sleeping on the second floor of their house in Paraspur area in the district, when someone threw acid on them around midnight on Monday.
One of the sisters, whose wedding had been fixed, suffered serious injuries on the face, chest and neck. The two other sisters suffered minor injuries, police said. All of them were admitted to the district hospital.
''She has suffered burn injuries on her face, neck and chest,'' said her father, who works as a 'dhobi' (washerman) for a living.
As the girls cried in pain, when their parents, who were sleeping on the ground floor, rushed to their room and found them writhing in pain, police said.
The attacker managed to flee from the spot, police added.
Sources said that the 'sagai' (a ceremony before the marriage) of the eldest sister was to take place after ten days.
Police said that a case was registered and the investigations were on. ''We suspect that someone from the locality may have perpetrated the crime,'' said a police official in Gonda on Tuesday.