Two unidentified men threw acid on a 21-year-old female law student in Jammu & Kashmir's Srinagar district on Thursday morning. The victim sustained burn injuries on face and an eye. She was rushed to the SK Institute of Medical Sciences in Soura immediately.
"The woman has been shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, where doctors have described her condition as critical," IANS quoted a senior police officer as saying.
As she had suffered eye injuries, she was later shifted to JVC Medical College and Hospital in Bemina. "She has a serious injury in one of her eyes and has acid-burns on both her hands and face," Kashmir Dispatch quoted a JVC doctor as saying.
The victim, who belonged to Alche Bagh locality, was attacked outside her college in Tawheedabad. Two unidentified men came in a car and sped away after throwing acid on her.
The police have launched a manhunt to nab the culprits.
Acid Attacks Still on the Rise?
Despite Supreme Court's judgment banning the sale of acid in the country, the heinous crime continues unabated. The national crime records bureau released an estimated record of 1,000 attacks every year.
However, Stop Acid Attacks (SAA) – a Delhi-based group against acid violence, which also collects data on the crime – believes that the number of acid attacks are higher than what is reported.
In July 2013, the Supreme Court announced its judgment on a PIL filed by a 2005 acid attack victim Laxmi. The court had declared that acid would now be treated as a poison and its sale will be restricted under Poisons Act 1919.
Thereafter, not only should the retailers have a licence to sell acid, buyers too need to submit a copy of their photo ID to obtain it. However, the law remain on papers; its implementation has not been achieved fully yet.
Reportedly, acid is still being sold in markets without any restrictions. No one paid heed to the SC ruling thereby resulting in continued rise in acid attack cases.
The attacks are not just restricted to women, men too are victims of acid attacks. However, women form a larger percentage of the victims i.e. 70%. Among the women victims, most are between the age group of 21-30 i.e. 76%.
Of all the attacks on women, 51% take place when they reject a man's proposal or advances, The Guardian reported.
