A 24-year-old woman suffered serious burn injuries after an unidentified person threw acid on her face on Wednesday evening in Telangana’s Ibrahimpatnam Mandal. The motorcyclist fled the spot after executing his horrendous crime, according to the police.
The incident took place at around 7 pm on 23rd December in Thimmapur thanda when the woman, who lost her husband 7 months back had gone to the market in Metpally with her sister for buying a cradle for a baby born in the family.
After getting down from an autorickshaw on her return, a man wearing a helmet on a motorbike, presumably to hide his identity, charged at the woman and poured the acid over her face that resulted in half of it getting burned.
Passersby immediately informed the police who sprung into action. The woman was hurriedly taken to the Metpally government hospital and then to a hospital in Nizamabad to receive better quality treatment.
The victim has a son and a daughter with husband Ravi whose death was due to an illness. She had come to visit her parents in Thimmapur 2 days back from her residence in Dabba village.
Speaking about the incident, a relative named Bhukya Swati said, “A baby was born in our relatives, she went to take a cradle at Metpally, that is where the incident took place, behind the Timmapur bus stand an unknown person wearing a helmet came and poured acid on her, that is what I came to know, now the police are investigating.
She also mentioned that she suspects one of the relatives to have carried out the crime.
The victim’s condition is currently stable though still needs treatment for which she is admitted at the health centre.
Ch. Sindhu Sharma, Superintendent of Police (SP), Jagtial district was quoted saying, “The woman is out of danger and undergoing treatment. A case is being registered in the local police station under relevant sections of IPC. A search operation has been launched to arrest the accused person.”
Telangana Member of Legislative Council, Kalvakuntla Kavitha expressed her anguish over the incident and instructed officials to probe the case to find the culprits at the earliest.
Her Twitter post read, “Extremely appalled and shocked to have heard about the incident of Acid attack. I’ve spoken to the SP Jagtial to initiate swift action. While no amount of justice can reduce her pain and suffering but the perpetrators will not be spared!”
Acid attacks have alarmingly increased in the past years as according to a report by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), in 2018 alone, there were 10 acid attacks in Telangana along with 5 failed attempts, taking the toll to 15.
In 2018, Telangana was listed as the 3rd most notorious state in terms of acid attacks on women. The trends have raised fears as there was one such case each in 2016 and 2017. West Bengal tops the tally with 45 cases followed by Uttar Pradesh with 33.
While the ban on acid sales doesn’t seem to get materialized any time soon, acid attack victims have reiterated the need for a better compensation scheme for the survivors.
A resident of Kanchanbagh, Saba Tabassum whose husband threw acid on her mother after she denied tolerating any of his abusive tactics, said, “When I left my abusive husband, I was his target. But he ended up throwing acid on my mother, who suffered 16 per cent burns on her face and neck. It has been two years since the attack, the government has neither given us protection nor restricted the sale of acid. I live in fear thinking I might be attacked by my estranged husband any time.”
