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3 blinded & 3 burned in acid attack in northern India

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October 24, 2000 

LUCKNOW (AP) - Armed with spears, machetes and acid, a group of upper caste Hindus attacked six farmers fishing in a village pond, blinding three of them and causing burn injuries to three others, the victims said Monday.

The attack on the lower caste Hindus occurred late Friday night in Mati, a village 35 kilometers (20 miles) east of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

The victims said the attackers from the upper caste Rajput, or warrior community, wanted to wrest control of the land given to them by the government.

"All of a sudden, a group of armed people attacked us without any provocation. They wanted to kill us," said Budhani, 27, whose both eyes were blinded in the acid attack. Budhani uses only one name.

Sanjay Singh, who lost one eye, said he feared for the safety of his family and demanded police protection.

Budhani and Singh spoke to The Associated Press from their hospital beds in Lucknow where they were brought by a social worker on Sunday.

Police in Barabanki district, where Mati is located, declined comment on the incident.

Budhani said police first refused to register a complaint against the attackers. Police acted only after the social worker from Lucknow visited their village and intervened on their behalf.

On Sunday, police arrested three people allegedly involved in the attack.

Caste, the centuries-old Hindu system of social hierarchy, dominates all spheres of life in India. The friction between various castes has intensified since India's constitution gave the lower castes the right to political participation, property, education, jobs and land.

The upper castes resist these changes.