Kathmandu, August 22

The Women and Social Committee of the House of Representatives has directed the government to amend existing legal provisions related to acid attack to ensure full justice to the victims.

According to the decisions made by the house panel during a recent meeting, legal provisions with regard to the punishment for the crime of acid attack should be made further stringent to prevent recurring incidents. Though the Criminal Code Act criminalises acid attack, the quantum of punishment stipulated in the penal code is not enough to fully discourage such crimes.

Section 193 of the act states that anyone who throws acid or any chemical substance at a person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term ranging from five to eight years and a fine ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000, depending on the gravity of the offence. The fine amount levied from the perpetrator shall be provided to the victim. In case of death of the victim, the perpetrator will face murder charge. Pavitra Karki, 22, of Okhaldhunga was attacked with acid in Sitapaila, Kathmandu on July 23.

The mastermind of the attack was her former employeer. Police arrested Mohammad Alam, 47, of Bara and Munna Mohammad, 23, of India in connection with the incident.

It was revealed that Alam, a married man, asked Mohammad to throw acid at Karki for allegedly turning down his marriage proposal.

In another incident, Bishnu Bhujel threw acid at 20-yearold Jenny Khadka in Kalopul, Kalopul, Kathmandu, on May 16 last year.

Bhujel was her ex-husband. Family dispute, revenge and jealousy, among others, are major reasons behind acid attack incidents, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Kuber Kadayat, who is also Nepal Police spokesperson.

The Parliamentary panel has also directed the government to regulate sale, distribution and use of acid. Earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered the government to regulate sale and distribution of acid to curb the use of the highly corrosive substance as a weapon to inflict bodily harm on the victims, mostly women and girls.

According to Nepal Police, the best way to control sale and distribution of acid is to make provisions for sale and distribution of acid only on doctor’s prescription by maintaining records of buyers and sellers. At present, one can buy it anywhere, even in jewellery shops. Regulating sale and distribution of acid should, however, not make it difficult for those who need it for valid reasons.

Several countries have enacted laws to regulate acid sale. Bangladesh enforced the Acid Control Act in 2002. The law provides a jail sentence of three to 10 years for any person, who produces, imports, transports, stores, sells, distributes and uses unlicensed acid. Pakistan also enacted a law related to acid in 2011.

India has a provision to prohibit sale of acid unless the seller maintains record of the buyers mentioning the purpose of purchasing the chemical substance.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 23, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.