There is outrage over the acid attack on a 24-year-old girl from Srinagar. As per police, the attack on the young woman was carried out by a stalker who wanted to marry her and couldn’t take no for an answer. The heinous act has been right discribed as worse than murder. It is scarring physically and emotionally for life to the victim.
Many of the survivors suffer from severe mental trauma as they are shunned due to their disfigurement. Jobs are not easy to get as appearances matter to many employers. Even homes on rent are denied to survivors.
The acid attack is an assault on the collective conscience of the society. As put by the Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, no words of condemnation will suffice. While the government should bear all costs for treatment, it should ensure proper cure. The administration should ensure free and effective treatment, including reconstructive surgery, free medicines, rehabilitation and aftercare to the victim.
The attack also shows how imperfect the sale of the acid is in Jammu and Kashmir.
Concentrated acid sold is relatively cheap and can be accessed through a variety of informal sector users. It is this ease of access that is spurring attacks. A system of licensing all transactions involving acid must therefore be introduced quickly. This would undoubtedly cover a wide range of users, including garment dyeing, rubber curing, leather, and gold purification, but the horrific suffering of acid attack victims makes some form of regulation essential. The retail sale of this off-the-shelf chemical, which is sometimes also used in suicide attempts, can safely be banned because less corrosive alternatives are available. For effective enforcement, though, it is essential to institute a document trail from production to point of sale.
As per the Supreme Court directions whenever an FIR is lodged in an acid attack case, the SDM of the area concerned will hold inquiry into the procurement of acid by the “wrongdoer”.
The court has ordered that the acid attack victims shall be paid compensation by the government concerned as an after-care and rehabilitation cost for such victims.
The police have done its bit by nabbing the culprits and now the charge sheet should be presented without any delay. In turn the judiciary shall take a lead by serving exemplary punishment to the accused, of course after proper trial.
