Indian mother-in-law tries to burn baby alive INSIDE pregnant daughter by throwing acid over her after astrologer predicted it would be a girl

A pregnant mother is recovering in hospital after her Indian in-laws poured acid on her bump in an attempt to fry the baby after a prediction it would be a girl. The 27-year-old victim - named as S Girija by police in Nellore, eastern India - collapsed in

agony when her husband's mother and her sister-in-law poured a powerful acid on her baby bump.

Investigators believe that the women were attempting to kill both Girija and her unborn child after an astrologer said she was expecting a girl. 

Police have confirmed the victim's mother-in-law is on the run, but her husband and his father, who were not named in reports, have been arrested in the attempted murder investigation.

Girija already has an 18-month-old daughter and police believe she was attacked to stop her husband fathering a second girl. 

The attack came just days of the victim's mother-in-law had consulted a fortune teller over the baby's gender, according to local reports. Medics say she has severe burns over 30 percent of her body. senior officer told local media: 'We are waiting for chemical analysis report. It appears that they mixed a chemical in kerosene and poured it over her. We are on a look-out for Girija's mother-in-law.'

Many Indians from rural or traditional backgrounds believe female children are worth less than boys.

One commentator told local media: 'This is typical of the ignorance about and prejudice against a girl child.'- Daily Mail