By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 6: Eighteen women and four men had become victims of acid attacks in the last seven years.
In 20 acid attack incidents from the fiscal year 2014/15 to 2020/21, altogether 25 men and two women were detained on the acid attack charge, according to a data provided by the Nepal Police Headquarters, Naxal.
Nepal Police had field murder charge sheets against two acid attackers, one in the fiscal year 2016/17 and another in 2018/19.
Similarly, of the total arrestees, 13 persons were filed charge sheets under attempt to murder case, four cases under disfigurement or damage of any organ, and one case under some general crime charge sheet.
However, there was not any record about the remaining arrestees.
Likewise, four acid attack incidents happened in each fiscal year-- 2014/15, 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20. Two acid attack incidents happened in the year 2015/16, and one each in 2016/17 and 2020/21.
According to the record, two women also attacked men with acid in 2015/16 and 2019/20.
Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and spokesperson at Nepal Police Headquarters Kuber Kadayat said the present Criminal (Code) Act-2017, under section 193 prohibits everyone to cause bodily pain to another person by hurling acid or similar kind of toxin substance in such a way that it would disfigure the face or any part of the victim’s body.
He said any person committing such offence will be liable to imprisonment of 5-8 years and a fine of Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 500,000 in case of disfigurement of the victim’s face only.
Also, in the case of disfigurement of any other organ or bodily pain, the perpetrator will be liable to a fine of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 300,000 and imprisonment of 3-5 years.
He said the provision fundamentally states that punishment would depend upon the nature of damage the victims had suffered.
The present Act has no provision of life imprisonment to the perpetrators, SSP Kadayat said.
Strict market monitoring and regulation of the import of acid right from the border points can somewhat help reduce acid attack incidents, he said.