In Delhi for treatment, acid attack victim from Bihar seeks HC protection

A 43-year-old widow Friday knocked on the doors of the Delhi High Court seeking protection for her daughter, an acid attack victim, alleging that the accused were forcing her to withdraw the case against them in Bihar.

The plea for urgent safety of her daughter was mentioned before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Deepa Sharma, and will be taken up for consideration Monday.

The woman, through her advocates Sija Nair Pal and Sneha Mukherjee, told the bench that she wants directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner to ensure safety of her daughter.

The woman, in her plea, alleged that her 20-year-old daughter, who is married, was harassed and attacked with acid by six persons, including her husband and paternal uncle at their home in Bihar’s Basant Patti village.

“On January 25, 2018, the victim and her sister reached home at 6 pm. She found that six persons were inside. They started beating her and when she tried to shout for help, they tied her neck with clothes and closed her mouth, after which she fell on the floor,” the plea said.

“The accused threw acid on her and cut off her right thumb, because of which she lost consciousness,” it said. The attack took place because the victim’s mother is involved in a property dispute with her paternal uncle.

The woman said a case was lodged against the six accused on January 26, 2018. “The daughter named all six in the FIR, yet none of them have been arrested,” the plea said.

It said the woman had taken her daughter to a hospital in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, but was eventually referred to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment.

The woman alleged that a person allegedly sent by one of the accused had threatened to harm the victim’s sister if they didn’t drop the case. She said a complaint was lodged with Sarojini Nagar police station afterwards.

Courtesy: Indian Express