NHRC on Delhi acid attack: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on Friday, issued notices to the Delhi government and the city's police commissioner over an acid attack on a 17-year-old girl on December 14. Taking the suo motu cognisance of the incident, the commission also sent the notice to the member secretary of the State Legal Services Authorities, observing that the reported incident raises serious issues of human rights violations of the victim.
"It is really very disturbing that despite several amendments in the criminal laws and various measures taken by the authorities to ban the sale of acid or corrosive substances, other than for commercial or scientific purposes, it appears nothing much has changed on the ground, as the attackers are easily procuring acids - be it through off-line or on-line," the rights panel said in a statement.
The NHRC questions city's monitoring system
It further said the incident blatantly shows that there is no monitoring system in place within the administration to regulate the sale of acid or acids of different types.
"Therefore, prima facie, it appears that there is culpable negligence" on the part of the public servant for failing to regulate the sale of acid(s) within whose territorial jurisdiction the incident took place," the statement said.
Accordingly, it has issued notices to the chief secretary of the Delhi government, commissioner of police, and the member secretary of the State Legal Services Authorities, and sought detailed specific reports within four weeks, it added.
Girl suffered serious injuries to her eyes
It is pertinent to mention here that a boy threw acid on a 17-year-old schoolgirl in Delhi's Dwarka district on December 14, resulting in injuries to both of her eyes. According to reports, the incident happened around 7:30 am and the victim was referred to Safdarjung Hospital. The police said that the accused had bought the acid online and used it on the girl to check its effectiveness.
A doctor at the hospital said that the girl has suffered seven to eight per cent facial burns and her eyes have also been affected. Notably, the victim's father deals in rubber stamps and is also a property dealer, while her mother is a homemaker. She is the eldest among three siblings, that include a 12-year-old sister and a seven-year-old brother.
(With PTI inputs)
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