Kolkata: Several injured in 'alleged' mass acid attack

According to eyewitness accounts, three youths and a driver of the yellow cab threw acid-like liquids indiscriminately and randomly from the running vehicle at least three times in a distance of just 150 metres around 9 pm.

"It seems like women pedestrians were the targets of the acid-attackers," an eyewitness told IBNS.

"The liquid, which was thrown from the taxi, is believed to be acid because victims claimed a burning sensation and irritation on their skin that came in contact with the said liquid," the man added.

The injured were rushed to state-run SSKM hospital and discharged after providing first-aid.

Minutes after the incident, locals caught the yellow cab, but its driver and other three passengers managed to escape the scene.

Police, however, has seized the taxi (WB-04-F-7593) and started a probe into the matter.

"We interrogated the owner of the yellow taxi, Jayanta Mondal, and based on his statement, driver of the taxi has been identified as Ricky Mondal," a local police official told IBNS.

"We are talking to the victims and eye-witnesses and examining the CCTV footage of the area to know exactly what happened last night while our search operation is on to catch the accused taxi-driver," the official added.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)