The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Life imprisonment for man in acid attack case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 29, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Life imprisonment for man in acid attack case

Staff Reporter

It was in 2005 that Elizabeth, a domestic help, was attacked

BANGALORE: The second Fast Track Court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced Mehaboob Pasha (31) to life imprisonment for attacking a woman with acid following her refusal to go with him.

The court also fined him Rs. 1 lakh and ordered that he would undergo an additional simple imprisonment for four months if he failed to pay it.

The Sadashivanagar Police had filed a charge sheet in the court that on May 10, 2005, Mehaboob had attacked Elizabeth (45), a domestic help, with acid as she had refused to go with him. Elizabeth had suffered burns on her face and body.

Elizabeth, who was employed as a domestic help in a house in Sadashivanagar, was returning home when Mehaboob accosted her on 8th B Main Road. Pasha, who came in a car, demanded that she repay the Rs. 8,000 she owed him or go with him. When she refused, he threatened to kill her and in the process poured acid on her.

Mehaboob, who hails from Ranchi district of Jharkhand, was working as a car driver in a garage in Koramangala. Elizabeth, a resident of Ejipura in Viveknagar, was earlier working in an eye hospital where he was employed as an ambulance driver.

Decision hailed

Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW), a voluntary organisation working for the cause of acid attack victims, has welcomed the lower court's decision.

The earlier case of 20-year-old Haseena, in which the High Court had sentenced the culprit to life imprisonment, had set a good precedent, said Sushma Verma of CSAAAW.

She hoped that these two landmark decisions would set a precedent for all the pending acid attack cases in the State. CSAAAW, however, said that the State should consistently provide better compensation to acid attack victims.

Joseph Rodriguez was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Karnataka High Court for throwing acid on Haseena in August. The trial court had earlier convicted the accused for causing "grievous injury" and sentenced him to imprisonment of only five years and three months.

The High Court charged him with attempt to murder.

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