Land disputes behind most acid attacks in Bihar

As per statistics of the Bihar State Legal Service Authority (BSLSA), the state is seeing a disturbing trend. Of the 33 acid attack incidents recorded in the state last year, a majority were related to land disputes.

Four members of a family were injured in an acid attack last week at a village in Darbhanga district of Bihar, a state which has seen a spurt in such incidents.

According to a BSLSA official, of the 33 cases of acid attack, 26 related to land dispute. (Picture for representation)

As per statistics of the Bihar State Legal Service Authority (BSLSA), the state is seeing a disturbing trend. Of the 33 acid attack incidents recorded in the state last year, a majority were related to land disputes.

According to a BSLSA official who didn’t wish to be quoted since he would require court’s permission, of the 33 cases of acid attack, 26 related to land dispute, two related to failed love affair, three to witchcraft practices, one each from Gaya, Nawada and Sheikhpura districts, besides two cases related to quarrel between wife and husband over extramarital affair.

Land dispute being the reason behind most the violent incidents in Bihar is a point often underlined by chief minister Nitish Kumar himself. “Nearly 60 per cent of violent crimes in the state have their roots in land disputes. To minimise these, fresh survey and settlement of land records is underway,” Kumar said at a recent meeting to review law and order situation.

“What is surprising is that the number of male victims of acid attacks is higher that of females, which could be due to involvement of land disputes. Another striking aspect is that a majority of the land dispute-related incidents are reported from north Bihar,” said an official in the police.

One of the important factors behind acid attacks is the easy availability of the dangerous substance in the open market despite Supreme Court’s ban imposed almost a decade ago. In 2013, the apex court had passed an order prohibiting over-the-counter sale of acid to regulate its sale across the country. The order stated that only select stores with permits be allowed to sell acid, that too after checking the ID cards of buyers.

Anil Kishore Yadav, additional director general (weaker section) under Bihar Police’s CID (crime investigation department),which monitors attacks on women, girls and people of weaker sections, refused to comment.

Officials in Patna district administration, however, said that sale of acid for industrial purposes and those for cleaning purpose is not banned.

Acid attack incidents

Year: Number

2016: 16

2017: 23

2018: 24

2019: 30

2020: 14

2021: 33