Tulsi and Bablu at the district hospital. Pictures by Surajit Roy

Malda, July 9: A driver of a maxi taxi who had been stalking a married woman for some time poured acid on her mother and brother last night after she spurned his advances and refused to have anything to do with him.

Both the victims of the acid attack, Tulsi Sinha and her son Bablu, are struggling for survival at the district hospital here, police said. Tulsi, one of her neighbours said, might lose her right eye. “The doctors said the condition of her eye is bad. It has been completely damaged.”

A hunt is on for Shibulal Mondol, who has fled his house in Jainpur village, 50km from here. He had been the Singhas’ neighbour.

Jharna, 30, has been married for three years and whenever she visited her mother Tulsi, Shibulal would stalk her and pass lewd comments.

On Monday, too, Shibulal followed her around but retreated when Jharna, who was visiting her mother, snubbed him. The driver then threatened to kill her, Jharna told the police in her complaint today. She told her mother about the threat and left for her husband’s place at Maharajnagar, an adjacent village, yesterday morning.

According to the police, Shibulal, who did not realise that Jharna had left, tiptoed to Tulsi’s house late at night carrying the acid. He climbed to the roof of the house and removed a number of tiles and poured the acid into the room, where Tulsi and Bablu were sleeping. The acid fell on their faces and on their bodies.

Both of them began screaming in pain and neighbours rushed in on hearing the commotion. In the confusion, Shibulal fled.

Sripati Sinha, one of the men who took the two victims to the district hospital, said that most of Tulsi’s face had been burnt. The right side of her body has also been burnt.

Bablu’s condition is almost the same. Since Tulsi is a widow and Bablu a day labourer, the villagers have collected money for their treatment.

Bablu, who has given a statement to the police, said the acid was thrown on them from above. “It was none other than Shibulal who did it,” one of the investigating officers said. Tulsi, however, was not in a position to speak.

“The doctors told us that nothing could be said about their condition before 72 hours,” one of the officers said.

Jharna, who visited her mother and brother at the hospital this morning said: “Shibulal had threatened to kill me. He thought that I was at home and he poured the acid into the room. I have filed a detailed complaint at the Baishnabnagar police station.”

The district superintendent of police, Satyajit Bandyopadhyay, said it was a most heinous crime. “We will arrest Shibulal in a few days.”