Nepalese Schoolgirls Injured in Acid Attack

Two teenage Nepalese schoolgirls suffered burn injuries after a boy hurled acid at them early Sunday, police said. 

The girls, aged 15 and 16, were admitted to a hospital with burn injuries after the youth attacked them with a bottle of acid.

The two were sitting in class at a coaching centre in Kathmandu waiting for other students when the attack occurred.

"A masked boy came into the room and threw acid at them," senior police officer Narayan Khadka told Agence France Presse.

Khadka said an investigation was underway to find the attacker, and added that his motive had not yet been established. 

Acid attacks, which disfigure and often blind their overwhelmingly female victims, are often a form of revenge in South Asia linked to dowry, land disputes or refusal to a man's advances.

Although acid attacks are now a criminal offence in neighboring India, there are no specific laws addressing it in Nepal.