A woman’s face, neck and hands got severely burned after a man threw acid on her in Lahore’s Johar Town area, the police said on Monday.
The police are trying to arrest the suspect, who is currently at large.
The suspect, identified as Ahmad Liaqat of Depalpur, was trying to marry the victim and threw acid on her after she turned down the proposal, according to the FIR lodged by the woman.
The victim, a domestic worker, said she was attacked on her way to work at around 8am. The suspect was waiting for her near Jagawar Chowk with an unidentified man.
The suspect asked the victim to accompany her on his motorcycle and offered to drop her at the house where she worked. On being refused, he threw acid on the victim, severely burning her face, neck and hands. The acid was kept in a steel jug.
The woman immediately ran back to her home after the attack and was taken to Jinnah Hospital by her brother, according to the FIR.
The FIR was filed under Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 336-B, which reads: “Punishment for hurt by corrosive substance: Whoever causes hurt by corrosive substance shall be punished with imprisonment for life or imprisonment of either description which shall not be less than fourteen years and a minimum fine of one million rupees.”
The victim said in her statement that the suspect trying to kill her after she refused to marry him.
She said the man was forcing her to marry him but when she refused, he vowed to take his revenge and threatened her that he would not leave her capable of anything.
“Acid attacks are not acceptable at any cost,” SSP Operations Ahsan Saifullah said in a statement. He has also directed SP Cantt Saddar to arrest the suspect as soon as possible so that legal action could be initiated against him.
Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mahmood Dogar also took notice of the incident and has directed officials to file a case and take action against the attacker immediately.
Acid attacks have been a serious cause for concern in Pakistan. As many as 1,485 cases of acid attacks were reported in the country between 2007 and 2018, according to data collected by NGO the Acid Survivors Foundation,
According to another source, between 1994 and 2018 there were 9,340 acid burn victims in Pakistan.
In 2018, the National Assembly unanimously passed the Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2017, which offers free medical treatment and rehabilitation for acid attack victims, who often face physical and psychological disability throughout their lives.
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