Two cases of acid attacks were on Sunday (January 8) registered after a gap of two decades on the intervention of the additional director general (ADG), Agra zone, who had earlier met these acid attack survivors at a café in Agra run by them.
The registration of cases will not only bring justice to the survivors but will also pave way for benefits which they were entitled to but were denied in the absence of registration of case.
Recently, ADG Rajeev Krishna who took the initiative to interact with these acid attack survivors choosing to stand on their own by working at Sheroes Hangout – a café run under the aegis of “Chaanv Foundation”, an NGO working for cause of acid attack survivors.
“These acid attack survivors narrated their tale of woe to the ADG who wrote to Agra police commissioner Dr Preetinder Singh who ordered registration of these cases. The police have begun investigation into these cases,” said Chaanv Foundation director Ashish Shukla.
“The first case has been registered on the complaint of Rukaiyya Khatoon (34) who was attacked with acid when she was 14 in which not only her face but also body had suffered burns. The accused in the case was the brother-in-law of her sister named Arif who threw acid on Rukaiyya on September 07, 2002 at his house in Masani Ka Nagla area within limits of Kotwali police station of Aligarh,” said Agra police commissioner Dr Preetinder Singh.
{{/usCountry}}“The first case has been registered on the complaint of Rukaiyya Khatoon (34) who was attacked with acid when she was 14 in which not only her face but also body had suffered burns. The accused in the case was the brother-in-law of her sister named Arif who threw acid on Rukaiyya on September 07, 2002 at his house in Masani Ka Nagla area within limits of Kotwali police station of Aligarh,” said Agra police commissioner Dr Preetinder Singh.
{{/usCountry}}Her family members managed her long treatment but because of married life of her sister being at stake, no complaint was lodged with the police. Later, Rukaiyya Khatoon had a tough time as she was deprived of free medical treatment and compensation because no case was registered.
“Coming to know all these hardships, ADG, Agra zone, Rajeev Krishna wrote to the Agra police commissioner following which the case was lodged at Itimad-ud-daula police station of Agra,” Ashish Shukla said.
“The second matter is related to another acid attack survivor Madhu Kashyap, in her 40s now, who suffered an acid attack 22 years ago when she was pursuing graduation and was attacked by some unidentified men on her way from Raja Ki Mandi in Agra to Tajganj area in Agra. No case could be registered then. The case was registered against unidentified at Tajganj police station of Agra on Sunday,” Dr Preetinder Singh said.
“These cases have been registered under section 326 A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid) of the Indian Penal Code,” he added. “The registration of cases is a morale booster for these acid attack survivors as it will convey a message to police to be sensitive towards the cause. The acid attack survivors are denied free treatment and compensation they are entitled to in the absence of registration of case. Besides since 2016, acid attack survivors have been categorised as disabled and are entitled to benefit of reservation in government jobs but that too requires an FIR in the case,” Ashish Shukla said.
“In the absence of registration of case, most of acid attack incidents go unnoticed. The Agra police commissioner has assured us to issue guidelines for regulations regarding ban of sale of acid in open market,” Shukla said.