The girls at the news meet on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Three months at the city’s premier hospital may not be enough for a victim of acid attack to recuperate completely but the girl’s indomitable spirit put her back on the battlefront.

Too many battles — legal, social and most importantly for her rights — the 18-year-old girl has to fight all alone.

Her dream to become a computer engineer was dashed on the fateful night of October 31 when four youths — stalking the girl for months — attacked her while she was fast asleep on the terrace of their house in Chitnama village in Maner, 25km west of Patna. “Two of them held my legs and one my arms. Anil Rai, who had been mentally torturing me for many days, then took out a bottle and poured the content in a bowl first. Then, it was poured on my face. I realised from the excruciating pain that it was acid. My 15-year-old sister, who was sleeping beside me tried to help but she got burnt as well. It happened in just five minutes,” she said on Wednesday.

Though the girl narrated her ordeal at a media conference on Wednesday, The Telegraph, as its principle, is withholding her name to protect her identity.

Their father, Shailesh Paswan, a daily wage earner, said: “She was admitted to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) on October 31 and was released on January 23 this year. The doctors said all was fine but relief still eludes her. She was pursuing her intermediate from Abdul Gaffar College, Danapur, and used to work in the fields of farmers to support the family. The doctors at the PMCH said a plastic surgery would be done on her in March. On March 2, I went to the doctors. They just told me that it was not possible here and asked me to take her to any hospital in Delhi or Mumbai. I cannot afford this. The government gave a total compensation of Rs 4.42 lakh under the provisions of the SC/ST act. Till now, I have spent more than Rs 4 lakh on the treatment of both my daughters. I don’t know what to do next.”

The girl put up a brave face. “All of them were arrested. But the main accused, Anil, was named a minor and sent to a juvenile home. My statement before a judicial magistrate is still to be recorded. The state government promised speedy trial, too. Where is the trial? At the PMCH, we were not given free medicines and at present we have hardly a morsel to survive on,” she said.

Maner SHO Aditya Kumar said they were waiting for the additional chief judicial magistrate’s dates. “The magistrate is out of town. Hence the statement has not been recorded. We have been directed to reopen the case for which we have already prepared a strong chargesheet. Her statement in front of the judicial magistrate can confuse matters, which can affect conviction of the accused,” he said.

The girl can only hope now as Arjun Singh, the PMCH superintendent, said: “She will be treated here. I request her family to meet me on Thursday.”