By Haroon Rashid Bhat
“It is our collective responsibility to impart moral education to our youth, develop right behavior towards opposite gender and also warn them about the serious consequence of such heinous acts as per the laid down constitution”.
The Acid attack is a heinous form of crime that makes the life of the victim physically, socially, and emotionally miserable. The recent acid attack on a 24-year-old girl in Srinagar left a deep scare to our society-the society which is known as the abode of sages and seers. This is the second horrible incident of such nature that happened here. A few months back, a 17-year-old-girl suffered burn injuries in her shoulder after she was attacked by a man with acid in Kral Check area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district. Whatever the reason the assailant will give to this inhuman act. The fact of the matter is that he not only ruined someone’s life but also shattered the dreams of a young girl who nurtured her plans for her future life. If she will survive, imagine what will be her first reaction or feeling, when she will stand in front of the mirror with a disfigured face that otherwise always reflected her beautiful face. No doubt the medical science has progressed to a great extent and she may go for plastic surgery. Will that artificial treatment regain her magnificent past? Will that treatment shuns away from her horrible experience? Will the family come out from this terrible shock? What will be her future? ….
For the acid attack survivor, life means a series of trials and unending grief. The post-traumatic disorder is the most crucial phase. During this stage, the affected person may feel severe fear of the culprit and event. It creates frustration and misandry- feelings of hating men. After the psychological effect, many social implications also exist for the victims. These attacks render them dependent on their spouse or family for everyday activities, such as eating and running errands. Due to impaired visions and physically handicapped, many acid attack survivors are not able to get work. This negatively impacts their economic viability, causing hardships on the families that care for them. This particular episode is a warning to our society to stand united against such acts. It is high time for our religious and rational authorities to reflect upon this new-fangled phenomenon that has impaired the rights and health of women. A decent and knowledgeable society can’t tolerate such incidents to happen. It is our collective responsibility to impart moral education to our youth, develop the right behavior towards the opposite gender, and also warn them about the serious consequence of such heinous acts as per the laid down constitution.
There was no such separate provision in the Indian Penal Code till 2013 to charge sheet those accused of acid attacks, nor were there rules restricting the sale and purchase of acid. But after the Supreme Court directives to regulate the sale of harmful substances like acid, the government declared acid attacks a cognizable offense under Section 326 (A) of the Indian Penal Code with punishment up to 10 years. The Supreme Court ordered guidelines that must be followed strictly to curb such kinds of crimes.
Overview of the guidelines are
Acid should be sold only to people who show a valid identity card.
Buyers will also have to explain why they need the chemical and sales will have to be reported to the police.
compensation for victim
Let the Safety Needs to be Ensured Against Acid Attacks
Haroon Rashid Bhat is a teacher by profession , can be reached at minamharoon123@gmail.com
