Maharashtra women’s panel to seek strict norms on acid sale

PUNE: Maharashtra State Women’s Commission chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar is planning to request the state government to ensure more stringent rules to prevent sale of acid and curb the rising incidents of acid attack.
Rahatkar stated that there were several shops still selling acid. “Easy availability of acid is the primary reason for our failure to prevent such attacks,” she said.
While the Supreme Court had banned over-the-counter sale of acid, it is being done rampantly and this needs to be curtailed.“I shall be writing to the government to introduce checks,” she told TOI.
In 2013, the Supreme Court in the case of Laxmi vs Union of India and Others, had directed state governments and the Union territories to make appropriate rules for the sale of acid. The SC also directed states to implement stringent norms for retail of acid, treating it as a poison under the Poisons Act, 1919. Banning the sale of acid to minors, the court said the corrosive substance could be sold to only those who have valid identity cards issued by the government and that too after specifying the purpose for the purchase in writing.
While National Crime Records Bureau data has shown an increase in the rise of acid attacks, the chairperson said the incidents would continue unless there was strict implementation of the SC ruling.
The commission had earlier arranged a confidence walk. It has helped acid attack survivors find jobs as well. “We helped a girl from north India get re-married as well as provided assistance in meeting the medical expenses. We have also helped the survivors get jobs,” said the chairperson.
In December 2013, the SC directed all states to formulate specific rules regarding the sale of acid and for payment of compensation and provision of free medical treatment for survivors of acid attacks and notify the same before April 2014. The bench asked respective states to ensure that every police station, immediately after registering an FIR about an acid attack should intimate the sub-divisional magistrate concerned, who would inquire how assailant procured the acid.