dna exclusive: GRP scans 210 'love' SMSes to nail acid thrower

Was the acid attack at the Bandra terminus last week planned by a jilted lover? The police suspect so.

The Mumbai government railway police (GRP), with the help of the Delhi police, have launched a hunt for a man in the national capital who sent over 300 text messages to the 23-year-old acid attack victim, Preeti Rathi, most of which professed his love for her, about two years ago.

“Verification of SMSes and call details of the woman’s cellphone revealed that she had received more than 300 SMSes from an unidentified man in July 2011. Of these, more than 210 were ‘love SMSes’,” said a GRP officer. The SIM card was, however, later discarded.

Rathi, the officer added, didn’t respond to the man’s over­tures.

A team of the Mumbai GRP and the Delhi police have traced the address of the man with the help of the telecom service provider. But the police refused to divulge details, saying it will hamper their investigation.

The GRP officer said the attacker had escaped right after flinging acid at Rathi by boarding the Jammu Tavi Express at 7.55am on May 2. He claimed that had the man still been in Mumbai or adjacent areas, he would have been nabbed by now.

Another Mumbai GRP team is already questioning Rathi’s relatives, neighbours and family friends in Delhi.

Last Thursday, a man who had his face covered with a handkerchief threw acid at the 23-year-old nurse soon after she stepped off a train from Delhi at Bandra terminus.

Besides burns on her face and hands, Rathi’s windpipe and foodpipe were severely damaged. Two of her relatives, a passenger and a porter were also injured.