KATHMANDU, August 7

A bill registered at the Legislature-Parliament has proposed to criminalise acid attack on any person with an intention to maim or disfigure the victim(s).

It is the first time that any law has used the term ‘acid’. According to the ‘Bill Made to Maintain Gender Equality and End Gender Violence, 2015’, acid attack is punishable by the law. “If a person throws acid on a person or uses any chemical substance to attack a person in a manner to cause a serious harm or disfigure the victim, the perpetrator/s shall be sentenced to five to eight years in jail depending on the gravity of the offence and fined Rs 100,000-Rs 300,000. The fine imposed on the perpetrator shall be provided to the victim.” In case of death of the victim in such an attack, the perpetrator(s) will face murder charge under the existing law on ‘homicide’.

The Bill proposed by the Ministry of Law, Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs was recently tabled at the Parliament by Bills Committee with necessary revision /change for consideration and approval.

The Bill Committee had formed a five-member sub-committee to carry out clause-wise discussion among the lawmakers. The sub-committee comprises Constituent Assembly members Rewati Raman Bhandari, Akbal Ahmad Shah, Gopal Giri, Tarini Datta Chataut and Shiva Kumari Gotame.

A lawmaker said six deliberations were held to make necessary changes in the bill provided by the ministry. Lawmakers, rights activists and civil society leaders had demanded that the government make new law or provision to take legal action against the perpetrators of acid attack in the wake of February 22 incident. Two schoolgirls aged 15 and 16, were seriously injured when a man threw acid at them at Jhonchhe, Basantapur.

Twenty-six days after the acid attack, police arrested Jeevan BK, 20, the alleged perpetrator. He confessed to throwing acid on the 15-year-old to take revenge for all alleged insults against him by the girl and her family. The 16-year-old, who was sitting next to the targeted girl, also suffered burn injuries.

Jeevan BK was booked for attempt to murder as per the Muluki Ain, given the lack of specific law in this case. “As acid throwing may result in death of a victim, he was charged with murder, as there was no specific law to address the acid attack. It will be easier to initiate action against the culprits of acid attack once the new law is approved by the Parliament,” a police official said.