With the second incident of acid attack in Bengal in the last one week, the menace of acid attacks in the State has come back into focus.
According to the Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI), an NGO, West Bengal occupied the second spot after Uttar Pradesh in 2016 on the number of acid attack cases.
Uttar Pradesh occupied the first spot with 29 registered cases of acid attacks, while West Bengal stood second with 14 such cases last year. They are followed by Bihar in the third spot with 10 such cases.
Bihar ahead
However, Bihar is ahead of Bengal as far as acid attack-related injuries are concerned. While 14 registered attacks in Bengal have seen 22 survivors and casualties, in Bihar there were 10 attacks leaving 23 victims.
Speaking to The Hindu, the deputy director (Headquarters) of ASFI, Vikramjit Sen said: “Uttar Pradesh tops the chart with 29 attacks and 42 victims” in 2016.
Survivors and casualties
However, compared to 2015 the number of acid attack övictims has considerably reduced in Bengal in 2016. In 2015 there were 41 victims (survivors and casualties)of acid attacks in West Bengal, while it was 22 in 2016.
Earlier this week a woman was forced to drink acid by her husband in the Mallickpur area of Murshidabad district. According to locals, she was beaten up by her husband who wanted her to bring money from her parents’ place.
“After trying to strangle the woman, her husband poured acid into her month,” locals said.
She was later taken to a hospital in the neighbouring Birbhum district, where she collapsed. Last week, another woman was critically injured in South 24 Paraganas district when a local miscreant threw acid at her.
The incident took place inside a running train which was departing from Baruipur station.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of acid attack victims in both 2015 and 2016.
Drop in number
However, the numbers dropped from 61 (2015) to 42 (2016). According to the ASFI, despite strict directives issued by the SC upreme Court o in July 2014, there is still “severe lacunae” in regulating the sale of acid by State governments.
