Acid truth

LUCKNOW: "The pain was excruciating as the acid cut through three layers of winter clothing, burning into my flesh. Even in the ICU, as they bathed me with cold water, my skin kept scalding. I tried to be brave, but when I saw my face I broke down..."
Young Parul Shukla didn''t even know the man who did this to her. The acid attack on February 13, 2003, left her with 60 per cent burns.
Parul was headed for coaching classes on her moped. The assailant, masked behind a helmet, was riding pillion on a bike.
"I had been receiving anonymous letters from this psychopath for nine months in which he kept professing his love. He even threatened that if I didn''t become his he would throw acid on me, but I tore it up."
A week after the attack police arrested a neighbourhood youth, Vikram Singh. For Parul, the ordeal continues.
The agonisingly slow recovery has taken its toll. The scars are more than skin-deep. "I was an unfettered bird travelling on my bike, meeting friends. Now I no longer have the confidence to venture out alone or go to public places."