The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No thought on preventing acid attacks

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Saturday, Aug 11, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No thought on preventing acid attacks

Bageshree S.

Bangalore: It was exactly a year ago, in August 2006, that the High Court of Karnataka took serious note of the issue of acid attacks on women. After sentencing Joseph Roderiguez to life imprisonment for throwing acid on 20-year-old Haseena, the High Court had said that it could not “shut its eyes to the obnoxious and growing tendency of young persons resorting to the use of corrosive substances like acid for throwing on girls, causing not only severe physical damage but also mental trauma to the victims.”

After being wrapped on the knuckles by the High Court, the Government earmarked Rs. 1 crore for compensation and rehabilitation of acid victims and set up a panel to monitor the package, with the Karnataka Women’s Commission being the nodal agency.

A committee recently conducted a State-wide survey to ascertain the number of acid victims and compensation for them. According to Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW), a women’s group which is part of the team, over 60 acid attacks (all on women) have been reported in the State since 1999. 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 disfigurement, maiming, and loss of earning capabilities for these women, who are now confined to their homes. They continue to deal with medical complications.

Though there is some thought going into rehabilitation, there seems to be none on prevention of such attacks. Most importantly, there is no effort to restrict access to acids.

Concentrated hydrochloric acid, for example, can be bought easily. There are no rules on regulation except the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 (which was amended in 2000), which apply only to industrial situations. The police admit that there are no mechanisms such as regular inspections and stock-checking for acid sales, unlike in the case of explosives. But such laws are deemed impractical.

But one of the principal demands in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by CSAAAW is effective control over production, storage, distribution and concentration level of toxic acids. Mallige of CSAAAW says that there is a reluctance to even address the need to restrict acid sale, crucial to prevention of the crime.

Cases such as that of Hina in Mysore, she says, will only increase if there is no monitoring of availability of lethal weapons and acids and strengthening of the support system for those vulnerable. She adds that the attack on Hina points to the increasing dowry menace and the breakdown of the support system — of family, neighbourhood and law-enforcement authority.

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