Tribal activist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Soni Sori was flown to Delhi from Chhattisgarh on Monday and admitted to Apollo Hospital, after she was attacked with black oil on Saturday night. Nandini Rao, a womens’ rights activist who visited the tribal rights leader in hospital, told Scroll.in that Sori was lucid on Monday morning, though her voice was unclear. Her face and lips remained swollen, while her left eye was partially open and her vision blurry through it, Rao said.

Rao also spoke to IP Singh, senior doctor in charge at the burns intensive care unit, who said Sori was probably attacked with an acid-alkali mix. He added that it was difficult to say for sure what the substance was as her face had been washed a few times after the attack. According to Singh, it will take around two weeks for the swelling and the black layer on her face to subside. An ophthalmologist has reportedly seen Sori and said that her eyesight will probably be fine once the swelling reduces.

Sori was attacked by unidentified men in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Saturday night. She had travelling on a motorcycle with a colleague. They were 10 km away from Geedam town, where Sori lives, when the assailants struck. The Times of India reported that Sori had been worried about her safety after threats from attackers sent by local police. She had been speaking to police about a local farmer who was killed in a fake encounter in the region. Dantewada’s superintendent of police Kamlochan Kashyap said Sori had not provided them with information regarding her attack. He also said she should not have travelled 75 km on a two-wheeler at night if she was worried about her safety.