Patna: Villagers in Bihar injected acid into the eye of a man accused of stealing a cow, reminding of the horror of the infamous 1980 Bhagalpur blinding case which left around three dozen criminals blind in the attack.

The victim who lost his sight in the incident has been admitted to a local government hospital for treatment but the doctors treating him say the chances of recovery of his vision are remote. Earlier, his left eye was blinded over similar charges.

The incident took place at a remote village in eastern Bihar’s Muslim-dominated Araria district over the weekend while the state was busy celebrating the ‘festival of lights’.

According to the report, Mohammad Shahid, 46 from Balchanda-Haripur village under Kursakanta police station in Araria district broke into the cowshed of another villager Gosai Mandal at night and was fleeing after untying a cow, when the landlord woke up and raised an alarm.

Hearing his shout, local villagers rushed to the spot and caught hold of the accused with the cow. It is alleged the villagers gave him a beating while some in the crowd came with a syringe full of acid and injected it into his right eye as he pleaded for mercy. Subsequently, he was handed over to the local police who admitted him to a local government hospital for treatment.

The incident has now left the victim totally blind. About five years ago, his left eye had been blinded by the local villagers on similar charges.

“We are initiating action against the people accused of inflicting inhumane treatment to the victim,” local police inspector Vivekanand Singh told the local media on Monday adding the victim was a professional animal thief.

“For similar charges, he was sent to jail in the past but he did not quit his old habit even after coming out of jail,” said the police inspector adding two separate cases had been registered with the police on the basis of statements of the victim and the villager whose cow was being stolen.

The incident is a reminder of the 1980 Bhagalpur blinding case when the police had blinded as many as 31 undertrial/convicted prisoners by pouring acid into their eyes. The incident made criminal jurisprudence history by becoming the first in which the Supreme Court had ordered compensation for violation of basic human rights.

Based on this incident, noted film director Prakash Jha made a film titled Gangaajal starring Ajay Devgn in 2003.