The Hindu : Karnataka News : Scarred for life, she is still fighting for justice

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Friday, Aug 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Scarred for life, she is still fighting for justice

Staff Correspondent

A government doctor, victim of an acid attack, has moved the High Court

DETERMINED FIGHTER: Mahalakshmi, an acid attack victim in Mysore.

MYSORE: While Hina Fathima, on whom her husband poured acid recently, is struggling for life in K.R. Hospital, Dr. Mahalakshmi, another acid victim, is battling for justice.

Dr. Mahalakshmi’s former landlord threw acid on her seven years ago. After losing a legal battle at the lower court, she moved the High Court recently. She said “granting of bail leniently to the accused” was responsible for losing her case in the lower court.

Regretting the apathy of the system in extending helping hand to the acid victims, she said till now she fought the battle alone and would continue her struggle.

Dr. Mahalakshmi completed her MBBS in 1994-95 and worked for some time in St. John’s and St. Martha’s hospitals in Bangalore. In 1998-99, she opened her private clinic at a rented place in Mysore. “From day one, my landlord Chikkabasavaiah started troubling me. Unable to bear his torture, I shifted the clinic to another area and asked him to return the advance amount. When he refused, I approached the police and he became more violent. Despite my repeated complaints, the police refused to register case,” she said.

Once when she was returning home in an autorickshaw, her tormentor stopped the autorickshaw and misbehaved with her. When she approached the police, this time they registered a case. Angered by this, Chikkabasavaiah threatened her and asked her to withdraw the case.

She alleged that he threw acid on her on January 11, 2001 when she was returning home at 8 p.m. She said when she took the bylane that leads to her house, there was power shutdown. He was waiting for her with hands clasped behind. In a fraction of a second, he threw something at her. She immediately realised that it was acid and shouted for water. “No one came to my help. I stopped a couple on a scooter and pleaded that I be taken to a hospital. But the man did not help me,” she said. Finally, it was a child, her patient, who helped her into an autorickshaw and took her to a hospital. “I paid the price for being upright and fighting for justice,” she said.

For two days, Dr. Mahalaxmi was lying on the hospital bed. “The police took one day to register my case, for a flimsy reason to decide on whether the place of incident will come under their limit. It took nine months for the charge-sheet to be framed,” she said.

Although the police booked a case under Section 307, the accused was out on bail.

Dr. Mahalakshmi lost her left ear and eye. The left side of her face has scars and she has gone surgery.

According to her, it is her parents, especially her mother, who extended her moral support during her days of agony. She applied for the Government service and got selected.

She is now working as Medical Officer at Chamundi Hills.

“I have fought the case all alone, even the media did not support me then. After five years, the case came up for hearing in the fast track court and accused was released on bail,” she said.

When she wanted to approach the High Court, Director of Public Prosecution dismissed the case stating that “the case is unfit for appeal”. Not losing hope, she approached Home Secretary with the help of Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW) and he certified that the case was fit for appeal. The case was admitted in the High Court, she added.

The Government had to take acid attack seriously by banning the procurement and sale of hazardous chemicals. Educating the acid attack victims was important to bring the culprits to the book, she added.

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