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Panipat acid attack victim awaits justice
Even as 11 months have passed, a 38-year-old acid attack victim of Panipat is still awaiting justice as police have failed to trace the accused
Even as 11 months have passed, a 38-year-old acid attack victim of Panipat is still awaiting justice as police have failed to trace the accused.
The woman’s world changed when two bike-borne youths threw acid on her when she was returning from her job at a textile factory on October 26, 2020. She could not see their faces as they were wearing helmets. The incident was recorded in a CCTV camera installed in the locality but as of now, there is no clue about the perpetrators.
Neither the victim nor her family know the reason behind the crime that claimed vision of her right eye. “I want to know why they did this to me. But police have failed to do their job even after almost a year,” said the victim.
She is mother of three boys, and her husband works at a factory. “I used to work at a factory at ₹5,000 per month but after the incident, I lost vision in one eye and cannot work. Also, I hesitate to go out,” she added.
She had told the police the names of two suspects who used to harass her and one of them is her relative. She had filed a complaint against him about six years ago.
Police officials associated with the investigation said there is no evidence to prove the involvement of suspects in the case. Police have closed the investigation after announcing a cash reward of ₹1 lakh for any information on the accused.
“We had investigated the case but police could not identify the accused even as a cash reward was announced,” said Panipat DSP Satish Vats.
On the victim raising suspicion against two people in the case, he said, “We did not have any evidence to prove her allegations and their involvement in the case.”
Police had promptly registered an FIR against the unknown accused under Sections 326 A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Quila police station. But now, the victim has lost hope that the accused will ever be arrested or sent behind the bars.
“Most acid attack victims in our country know the accused. But in my case, police could not trace them,” she said. The victim had sustained serious injuries in her right eye and burns on her face.
Women protection officer-cum-child marriage prohibition officer Rajni Gupta said she is provided financial assistance by the women and child development department and the legal services authority.
“Now, we are providing her free legal assistance so that she can get benefits of government schemes meant for acid attack victims,” she added.
Panipat SP Shashank Kumar Sawan said, “The case is untraced and the accused are still unknown.”
