By Ritu Sharma, IANS
New Delhi : Rashmi Roy (name changed), 28, used to work with a dance troupe in a prominent hotel. A colleague allegedly threw acid on her Dec 19, 2004. She lost her sight and her face was disfigured beyond recognition.
Three years on, her case is still in a trial stage. So far she has footed her medical expenses of about Rs.100,000 by selling her belongings. However, doctors have recommended seven more plastic surgeries.
“My parents are dead. My brother, who was in Class 8 when the incident happened, had to leave his studies to look after me. No compensation came from the government,” a sobbing Roy told IANS.
“Wherever I go, children get scared by me. As I am completely blind and deformed, I cannot do any job. I and my brother’s survival are at stake.”
There is no specific provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to help acid attack victims like Roy. Not only do they have to live with disfigurement, they also have to come to terms with the fact that there is no specific law to deal with this crime.
The lack of a specific law may lead to perpetrators being let off with a comparatively nominal punishment. Even the fine slapped on the accused seems to be insignificant as compared to the physical and emotional scar that lasts a lifetime.
The sections of IPC which can be used to prosecute the accused in acid attacks are 329, 322 and 325 dealing with grievous hurt, voluntarily causing grievous hurt and punishment for grievous hurt and sometimes Section 302 (attempt to murder).
“A specific law to deal with the offences has to be brought and acid should be made a schedule banned chemical. Also, there has to be a proper rehabilitation programme for victims to help them rebuild their lives,” said Aparna Bhatt, a lawyer who has drafted a proposal with the National Commission for Women (NCW) for the rehabilitation of victims.
The NCW has proposed to create a forum to deal with acid attack crime. It has also proposed an insurance scheme for the treatment and rehabilitation of victims. The scheme seeks to establish committees comprising lawyers, social workers and surgeons from the national level down to the districts to monitor its administration.
The NCW has also proposed to the Law Commission to impose a minimum punishment of 10 years’ jail term to the accused and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Even the Law Commission has been pressing for harsher laws that can act as a deterrent for the accused.
Keerti Singh, a member of the Law Commission, said: “We are looking at the present law to make it more stringent. The commission is currently in the process of formulating recommendations.”
Even though the Supreme Court has termed the crime “worse than murder”, the offence is bailable.
In September last year, two men allegedly threw acid on designer Mona Suri outside her house and set her on fire. Suri died. The incident provoked a national debate on the vulnerability of women to acid attacks.
“Many operations are needed to make the acid victims presentable in society. A boy who was two years old when he became a victim has undergone about 20 plastic surgeries. He is now 17 and still requires more operations,” said Mahesh Mangal, a plastic surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
“The expenditure comes to millions of rupees,” he added.