Kathmandu. Acid attack is a heinous crime that scars the victims physically and psychologically. The perpetrators commit the crime with the intention to harm the physical attributes of the victim, causing immense damage to the skin tissue.

The first case of acid attack in Kathmandu valley was that of Sunita Magar and Sima Basnet in 2015, which occurred at Basantapur. They were 16-year-old at the time of the attack. Sunita was immediately taken to Bir Hospital from where she was referred to KMC Hospital. Sima, who had relatively less injuries later continued her life in India. Jiwan BK was not regretful of the crime that he committed, revealing that he did so to seek revenge with the Magar family for discriminating him as a Dalit. He was caught after a few days of the attack and was given a ten-year imprisonment sentence. BK, completely free of any guilt then warned Sunita’s family that he would kill them after he finished his sentence. Acid attacks have not really stopped since then.

Until the recent ordinance, under the Criminal Code, section 193, the perpetrator would be fined up to NRs 300,000, and be jailed for 5-8 years. The sentence, moreover, also depended upon the seriousness of the injury. If the victim died, the perpetrator would face serious charges for murder. This law unfortunately only came into effect in 2018, which displayed the lapses in the judicial system. Most recently, Pabitra Karki and Ramraja Thapa became victims of an acid attack, additionally highlighting a point that such attacks are not purely gender-based attacks.

On 25th of September 2020, the Council of Ministers amended the Criminal and Procedure Act and increased the criminal sentence up to 20 years and the compensation amount up to NRs. 1 million. Along with the major change, cases of acid attacks will be fast tracked in courts and sales of acid shall be monitored, with a reference made to the strict age restrictions. This change has come as a major victory for most victims. Muskan Khatun, an acid attack victim when speaking to AFP commented that her dream had come true, adding that such incidents haunt you for a lifetime and nobody should face such a situation. Her case had sparked tremendous debates and outrage in the country.

Khatun was splashed with acid on her face on her way to school by Samsad Miya, simply because she had rejected his friend’s proposal. Activist Ujjwal Bikram Thapa in an interview to BBC Nepali expressed his relief when the government announced that they would bear the cost of treatment for acid victims. He stated that the six and a half years he had spent in fighting for the cause had become successful, mentioning that he had formed very strong relations with the victims during his campaign.

Such crimes have a long-lasting effect on the victim and their families. The victims struggle with a pain that is unimaginable, and the process of recovery is arduous. Weak legislations often do not serve as an effective deterrent against the perpetrators of acid attacks. Although it was a long road towards justice, the steps that been taken to strengthen the laws against acid attacks is laudable.