The National Commission for women has asked acid manufacturers to take responsibility for the alarming number of ‘vile’ acid attacks, because of its availability in India. When it comes to acid attacks, Cambodia ranks the first followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.
Among roughly 1,500 acid-related crimes globally, 80% are meted out to women.
When we talk about laws, we need to look not merely at the people who are throwing acid on others, we need to look at the availability of the acid — those who sell it and manufacturers of the acid which is sold in these little bottles
— NCW Chairman Lalita Kumaramangalam said late on Monday.
Kumaramangalam further said that the small manufacturers are hardly bothered with anything except their sales. That the bottles are getting used in some illegal stuff hardly knocks their doors. In India, 349 acid attacks were reported in 2014, up from 116 in 2013 and 106 in 2012, according to research by the charity Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI).
The law of the land states a minimum penalty of 10 years in jail, along with a Supreme Court ruling on the regulation and sale of dangerous chemicals. However the reality is vastly different because you do not need any license to buy or sell acids.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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