In a world where courage confronts cruelty, we delve into the harrowing stories of survivors who have faced one of the most vicious forms of violence—acid attacks. These brave acid attack victims courageously share their traumatic experiences and heart-wrenching ordeals. We take you behind the scars… into the hearts and minds of women who have endured unimaginable pain, suffering, and horror. Through their voices, we uncover the stark reality of justice delayed and most often denied in a society that overlooks their plight.
Read More: From Manipur to Rajasthan, Delhi to West Bengal: Women Stripped and Paraded as Society Watches On
Reshma Qureshi: A Sister's Tragedy
In the year 2014, Reshma Qureshi's life took an unexpected turn as her brother-in-law hurled acid at her. The target of the vicious attack was her sister but tragically, Reshma bore the brunt of the brutality. The attack left her with permanent scars, disfiguring half her body, her face, and her eyes. Shockingly, the perpetrator received a sentence of just about 10 years, but for Reshma, the consequences of that moment will haunt her for a lifetime.
Reshma Qureshi | Acid attack survivor | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
Reshma adds, "Half of my body, my face, and my eyes got damaged during this attack. My hand was also affected. After that, I had to face a lot of challenges in life. I just couldn't make sense of what went wrong in my life. Even the treatment was extremely expensive and I was literally moving from pillar to post for justice and for medical care".
Read More: Fake Encounters: Extra-judicial Killings By Rogue Cops
Acid Attack Victim Sonali Mukherjee: An Ordeal That Never Ends
Sonali Mukherjee | Acid attack survivor | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
"I might never be able to forget that night in my entire life," Sonali recounts. "My face was also damaged, 70 percent, and my body, face, everything got damaged. The trauma—I had no sense for months, my eyesight was gone."
But why do the wheels of the law grind so slowly for victims of acid attacks, like Sonali Mukherjee? Only some survivors, like Sonali, fight both medical and legal battles following such gruesome attacks. Many other women often give up; some commit suicide. Some struggle with mental health issues. Most of the others are left grappling with a system that often fails to deliver timely justice, prolonging their suffering and deepening the scars inflicted upon them.
Pragya Prasun: Scarred After 12 Days of Marriage
Pragya Prasun | Acid attack survivor | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
Pragya Prasun, another survivor of an acid attack, endured the horrifying ordeal just 12 days after her wedding. Despite the magnitude of the crime, her perpetrator received only a 4 and a half years sentence. For the past 13 years, he has been leading a normal life, while Pragya continues to grapple with her physical and emotional wounds, persistently dealing with ongoing medical issues and the haunting scars.
Read More: LGBTQIA Rights: Can Government Institutionalise Stereotypes?
The disparity between the gravity of the crime and the punishment meted out to the perpetrators is painfully evident in many acid attack victims’ cases like Pragya’s.
Ritu Saini: A Battle for Sight
Ritu Saini's story closely parallels the struggles of many acid attack victims. She was attacked at the age of 16-17, and she lost her eyesight due to the severity of the injuries. "I was attacked 12 years ago when I was 16 or 17 years old," says Ritu. "My face started recovering, and my features began to show up, but my eyesight was lost forever. Even now, treatment is ongoing, and it's been almost 12 years."
Ritu Saini | Acid attack survivor | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
Though the perpetrators who unleashed this horror on Ritu were sent to jail, she was shocked to learn how swiftly they managed to secure their release on bail. “In the district court, the decision was announced after 2.5 years that 3 people were sentenced to life imprisonment, and 2 people received 10 years of imprisonment each. When I got them punished through the district court, I thought it was done, and they would remain in jail for a longtime. However, I was informed later that all five were out on bail. They had secured bail from the high court. I learned about it after a very long time. So, as of now, if I go to the Supreme Court, it takes a lot of money to hire a lawyer, and it's difficult for me and my family to afford,” states Ritu.
Rashmi Bhatia | Acid Attack Survivor Recounts Horror
Rashmi Bhatia | Acid attack survivor | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, over 1300 acid attacks were officially reported in India between 2016 and 2021. However, these figures likely just scratch the surface, as experts contend that there are a significantly larger number of unreported cases that remain hidden from official records. In the majority of the reported cases where some sort of an action comes about, the perpetrators often receive relatively lenient sentences and secure bail with surprising ease. Rashmi Bhatia, for instance, was forcibly made to drink acid by her husband, and like countless other women, she, too, continues to wage her legal battle for justice.
Rashmi’s path to justice has been fraught with many disappointments: Endless hearings postponed, judicial inaction and the haunting trauma of her past. Meanwhile, her husband, once behind bars, is now out on bail while Rashmi grapples with suicidal thoughts and the enduring trauma.
“When I filed a police complaint, there were no hearings, and no action was taken. We were left wandering around. On top of that, my condition was so bad that I could not drink water from my mouth. My food pipe was completely damaged, and I was unable to eat food. He is out on bail now, as lockdown was imposed, and after that, no hearings have been conducted, only dates have been extended. I was so mentally disturbed that I lost all hope that I didn’t want to live. Many times, I used to think I should die, but the face of my son appeared in front of me. He is the reason I am alive now,” asserts Rashmi.
Shaheen Malik’s Life Altered After The Gruesome Attack on Her
Shaheen Malik | Acid attack survivor | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
In 2009, at the age of 26, Shaheen Malik fell victim to an acid attack. Astonishingly, it took four years for the police to reach out to her. It was only through Shaheen's unwavering determination and the intervention of a magistrate that her case was eventually reopened, leading to the arrest of her perpetrators. However, they managed to secure bail with surprising ease. For the past 13 years, her case has been stuck in an endless trial, with no resolution in sight.
In the world of acid attack survivors, the painful echoes of justice delayed resound far and wide. Their stories reveal a system that often falls short of delivering timely justice, leaving them to grapple not only with their physical scars but also with the endless trauma of waiting. In the battle for justice, time should never be the enemy, for justice delayed is justice denied, and every moment counts for those who have endured the unimaginable.