MEERUT: Four students of a college in Meerut had a miraculous escape after some miscreants threw acid on them with a syringe.

Police have lodged an FIR against the troublemakers and heavy police force has been deployed but are yet to nab them.

According to Sarurpur police, the incident occurred on Saturday when three boys threw acid at four girls on their way to Kisan Inter College . An alarm was raised for help and locals chased the boys who managed to escape.

"We were going to college using the main road. Three locals - Gulzar, Saif Ali Khan and another man - came out of the sugarcane field and threw acid on us using a syringe," one of the victims told the police. She added that the accused threatened people who attempted to catch them.

Fearfully, the girls reached their college and narrated the incident to the college authorities and their family members who took to the streets, disrupting traffic on the Meerut-Karnal Road to demand the immediate arrest of the accused. To quell the flare-up, heavy police force was dispatched to the scene to avoid any communal tension.

"We are keeping a close tab on the situation. Police officials are meeting with people from different communities to maintain communal harmony," said a senior police official.

"We have lodged an FIR against the three accused under various sections of the IPC including 326 and 354. A manhunt is on to nab the culprits. We have questioned their family members but so far they are absconding," said Shwetabh Pandey , DSP, Sardhana.

"We have recorded the statements of the victim and matter is being probed from all angles," Pandey added.

When contacted to get comment on the law and order situation in Meerut and neighbouring districts, IG (Meerut range) Alok Sharma and SSP Meerut Omkar Singh were unavailable.

It is to be noted that the incident follows a recent spate of acid-related cases. On January 4, the police arrested a person who threatened a girl with acid if she did not accept his friendship proposal while on December 16, acid was thrown on a student at Meeva village in the Mawana area.

