A woman says she was attacked with acid by a man she accused of raping her in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh province on Sunday, after she refused to withdraw her case against him.
The attacker threw acid on the victim after her husband was tied to a tree by accomplices.
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The victim suffered burns to her face and neck.
“In the evening my husband and I had gone to work in the field. They tied my husband to a tree while Surjit and another guy grabbed me. Then Surjit threw acid on me,” the woman said on Monday. “He had raped me, I filed a case about the same and they had threatened me that they won’t spare me.”
The injured woman is undergoing treatment at a local hospital and is said to be in stable condition.
The woman was allegedly raped on Aug. 9 but police reportedly did not investigate until Sept. 2 after the family filed a report. The family has allegedly been pressured to withdraw the complaint since the case was opened.
The alleged attackers fled after the acid attack. Superintendent of Police in Bulandshahr, Mansingh Chauhan, said a hunt was on to find them.
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“Police were told that some chemical was thrown on the victim’s face and body. We will investigate the matter and arrest those involved and take strict action against them,” said Chauhan.
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India has reported a rise in acid attack cases in the last few years.
Globally, there are as many as 1,500 recorded acid attacks every year, with more than 1,000 cases estimated to occur in India alone. However, many attacks go unreported because victims are too afraid of reprisals to come forward.
Attackers frequently target the head and face to maim, disfigure and blind the victims. Despite the severity of the crime, acid remains easily available in India, where it is used in the manufacturing and processing of cotton and rubber.
According to Indian laws, a person convicted of carrying out an acid attack can be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court ruled last year that victims should receive free medical treatment and minimum compensation of nearly C$6,000.
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