NARRATING THEIR STORY: A file photo of acid attack victims at a public hearing in Bangalore.

Bangalore: When we ask for a litre of acid, the person behind the counter of a chemicals shop at Raja Market in the heart of the old city casually enquires: "For what purpose?" We tell him it is for cleaning paint stains in a new building. He measures out a litre from a big barrel into a bottle. A sniff from the bottle's cap bores through our nostrils. It is hydrochloric acid (HCL) and the fumes that waft above the liquid suggests that it is concentrated and deadly. The barrel from which it comes has neither the name of the acid or its level of concentration.

There are laws in the country that do not allow an ordinary citizen to buy a gun across the counter. Shockingly, there are none to restrict access to concentrated acid, an even more deadly weapon that maims, disfigures, and sometimes kills. It is being increasingly used against women.

Following yet another acid attack case in Bangalore last week, The Hindu did a random check on the availability of acids in the city and found that buying hydrochloric acid is as easy as buying a bar of soap, particularly in areas such as Nagaratpet, Ragipet and Raja Market. A litre of acid is priced anywhere between Rs. 16 and Rs. 25.

About 60 cases of acid attacks (mostly using HCL and sulphuric acid) have been reported since 1999 in Karnataka. All the victims have been women.

Disfigured for life

While many attacks have resulted in slow and painful deaths, cases like that of Haseena (in April 1999) and Shruti (in October 2001) have resulted in young women getting disfigured, maimed and confined to homes for life.

They continue to battle medical complications as acid seeps into the body and harms internal organs over an extended period of time. "We do not know the full-blown picture on the first day in acid cases. In fact, acid victims never recover as fully as flame victims," says Satish H.V, a consultant plastic surgeon who has treated three acid victims in Mysore district.

But none of this has compelled the authorities to put checks on retail sale of acids. There are no rules right now on regulation except the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 (which was amended in 2000), which apply only to industrial situations.

Gopal Hosur, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), admits that there are no mechanisms such as regular inspections and stock-checking for acid sales, unlike in the case of explosives. But such laws, he argues, are not "practical". "People can always use acid in vehicle batteries. How do you control that?" he asks. Making laws, he says, might in fact result in "making the system more corrupt".

Deterrence should come in the form of stringent punishment and simplifying the criminal procedure involved in trying acid cases, he says.

But one of the principal demands in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW) — besides stringent punishment for the perpetrator of the crime and rehabilitation of the victim — is effective control over production, storage, distribution and concentration level of toxic acids. Mallige of CSAAAW asks how any responsible democracy can cite difficulty in regulation as an excuse for not framing laws. "Even Bangladesh has special laws to regulate acid sales," she says. Bangladesh, incidentally, has a high rate of acid attack crimes against women.

Haseena case

In the landmark verdict in the Haseena case, the High Court took a serious view of acid attack cases and said that a comprehensive package should be worked out to treat and rehabilitate the victims. Efforts are on now to formulate a committee to monitor the process. But as far as controlling sale of acids goes, there is no action so far.

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