In one month,she has been slashed with blade twice

She has already returned to work,keeping her schedule the same as earlier.

The victim’s family is from Hapur,Uttar Pradesh,and came to Delhi in May last year.

“My husband works as a driver and we are barely able to sustain our family of five,” says the girl’s mother.

Around 8 pm on Saturday,the girl was returning from work when the assailant,reportedly clad in a white jacket and riding a motorcycle,attacked her,slashing her just below the lower lip. According to police,within ten minutes of this attack,a 17-year-old resident of Sultanpuri was attacked by the same assailant,a few metres away.

Both the victims were rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital and administered first-aid.

“The man was riding a new motorcycle,either an Apache or a Pulsar. As the bike was new,and therefore relatively noiseless,the victims were caught unaware,” says a senior police officer. Police suspect the attacks were well-planned ones. Police detained 48 persons for questioning on Sunday.

The Saturday attack was the fifth such since November last year in the area.

“I call her every hour since the incident. I worry till I see her at the doorstep,” says the 18-year-old’s mother.

“The girl was being stalked for a long time and the person would trouble her daily through SMSes. She was earlier attacked on December 31. We are yet to ascertain if she was attacked by the same assailant,” says the officer.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Chhaya Sharma,“We are studying the modus operandi and have detained a few persons for questioning.”

Two persons were arrested on December 6 for attacking five women between November 12 and December 3. One of the assailants,according to police,was “spurned in love” and was seeking revenge.