[Only a few
months ago, this kind of assault, which is common in the Indian subcontinent,
wouldn’t have merited the attention from a home minister. It was only in
February, after the Delhi gang rape generated outrage over the issue of
violence against women, that Parliament passed a bill that created a separate criminal code for acid
attacks. Before this, such attacks were prosecuted as a generic crime that
caused physical injury or death.]
 |
| Courtesy of Stop Acid AttacksA demonstration outside Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil’s house in Mumbai demanding justice for the victims of acid attacks, on June 2. |
NEW DELHI —When
Preeti Rathi got off the train at Bandra Terminus station in Mumbai on May 2,
she was looking forward to a new life in the city, where a job as a nurse
awaited her. But the life of the 23-year-old from Delhi changed dramatically in
a matter of seconds when an unidentified man doused her face with acid.
“I was walking
alongside when a man came from behind and tapped Preeti on the shoulder,” Amar
Singh Rathi, the victim’s father, said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “When
she turned, he threw acid on her.”
After battling for
her life for nearly a month, Ms. Rathi succumbed to her burns and injuries on
Saturday at a local hospital.
Her family has
accused the local authorities of bungling the investigation. The police have
arrested two men, but one was released after he proved he was somewhere else at
the time of the attack. Ms. Preeti’s father has dismissed the other suspect as
a scapegoat. “The police have made these arrests to make a fool of the public
and media and lead them astray,” he said.
Maharashtra’s home
minister, R.R. Patil, met with Ms. Rathi’s parents on Sunday and assured them
that the case would be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the
top investigative agency in the country.
Only a few months
ago, this kind of assault, which is common in the Indian subcontinent, wouldn’t
have merited the attention from a home minister. It was only in February, after
the Delhi gang rape generated outrage over the issue of violence against women,
that Parliament passed a bill that created a separate criminal code for acid
attacks. Before this, such attacks were prosecuted as a generic crime that
caused physical injury or death.
Acid attacks are
almost always “tied to gender inequality and discrimination,” noted a
2011 study sponsored by the Avon Foundation for Women. The
study also noted that attackers prefer to use hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric
acids because they rapidly burn through flesh and bone: “Perpetrators often
intend to destroy what society considers to be one of the most valuable traits
of a woman — her beauty.”
Because acid
attacks were only recently classified as a specific crime, the Indian
government does not keep track of the number of cases. However, the Avon
Foundation study found that the number of assaults reported in the media rose
from 2002 to 2010.
Acid Survivors
Foundation reports from India and Pakistan have also recorded an increasing
number of acid attacks in both countries, and both countries have underscored
the gravity of the problem by passing legislation to strengthen penalties for
these attacks.
In India, the new
law that recognizes acid attacks as a separate crime imposes a minimum penalty
of 10 years in prison, with a maximum of life imprisonment, and a fine of up to
1 million rupees ($18,000). In Pakistan, the Parliament in 2011 made amendments
to existing laws that criminalized such attacks, stipulating a minimum sentence
of 14 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and fines up to
1 million Pakistani rupees ($10,200).
The suicide of an acid attack victim in Pakistan last year
galvanized public opinion, which put pressure on the government to introduce
even stronger laws. A bill titled “Acid Throwing and Burn Crime Bill 2012” was
introduced in the Parliament in Pakistan, which sought “to redress the acid
throwing and burn crimes which are increasing year by year.” However, the bill
is still pending in Parliament.
There is some
evidence from Bangladesh that stricter laws can help reduce the number of acid
attacks. Bangladesh passed laws against acid violence as early as 2002 and took
steps to regulate the availability of the acids commonly used in such attacks.
The Avon Foundation study found that Bangladesh has seen a decline in the
number of reported acid attacks from 2000 to 2009.
The strengthening
of laws in India might help victims get justice; however, the laws do not
necessarily serve as a deterrent. The easy availability of the acids used in
these attacks is part of the problem, the study said. For example, a liter of
hydrochloric acid costs between 16 to 25 rupees in India.
For now, the
father of Ms. Rathi said he wasn’t concerned about current or future
legislation to prevent attacks like the kind that killed his daughter. “We
don’t want anything else but that the culprits be caught,” he said.
AMERICAN TOURIST GANG-RAPED IN MANALI
[The case has been registered under sections 376D of the Indian Penal Code, which applies when “a person is sexually assaulted by one or more persons constituting a group or acting in furtherance of a common intention”; section 392, which deals with robbery; and section 34, which applies to “acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention.”]
By The New
York Times
NEW DELHI — The Himachal Pradesh police said Wednesday that
they were still looking for the three men who raped an American tourist after the
victim was not able to identify any suspects in a lineup.
On Tuesday, a 30-year-old American woman was raped by three men in
Manali, a tourist destination in northern India. After she reported being
raped, the local police ordered all the truck drivers in Manali to report to
the police station.
“Suspects were brought in yesterday for questioning who matched the
victim’s descriptions,” Sanjay Kundu, an inspector general with the Himachal
Pradesh Police, said in a telephone interview. “But when they were brought in,
she did not identify them as the perpetrators of the attack.”
The woman was also robbed of her iPhone, a Nikon camera, 5,000 Indian
rupees (equivalent to $90), $30 in U.S. currency and 1,500 Thai baht ($50), the
police said in a statement.
The case has been registered under sections 376D of the Indian Penal Code, which applies when “a
person is sexually assaulted by one or more persons constituting a group or
acting in furtherance of a common intention”; section 392, which deals with
robbery; and section 34, which applies to “acts done by several persons in
furtherance of common intention.”
The police assigned a female constable as a liaison between the police
and the victim, who remains in Manali, to provide the “required security” for
the victim. Police teams are also carrying out raids to look for the suspects
and the vehicle.
The Himachal Pradesh Police also said that American Embassy officials
would be sending representatives to help the victim.
@ The New York Times
@ The New York Times
