An acid attack at 14, and a lifetime without justice

Hakimpur (North 24 Parganas), West Bengal:  Sunita Dutta was 14 when she rejected a proposal from a neighbour. One month later, the boy threw acid on her face while she slept, disfiguring her face and body and forcing her to undergo more than 25 surgeries over the next five years. Fifteen years on, the accused, who destroyed her childhood, continues to roam free across the border. Sunita, now 29, remains haunted by the night of the attack and has yet to see justice.

At the time, Sunita was a Class 9 student living in a small village near the Hakimpur border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. She lived with her mother, a tailor, and her two elder brothers, who worked as daily-wage labourers outside the state.

The trouble began when a neighbour, Ranajit Tarafdar, who had come from Bangladesh to study in the area, started harassing her after she rejected his advances. Despite repeated complaints by her family and a formal police warning, the stalking continued. Exactly one month after the police released him, Tarafdar carried out his threat. Around midnight, he threw acid through the window of Sunita’s house while she slept.

“I didn’t even realise it was acid. I had no idea acid could do something like this. I started screaming in pain,” Sunita recalled.

She was immediately rushed to a local hospital in Hakimpur by neighbours, but the facility refused to admit her, saying it was not equipped to treat burn cases. She was then taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata, where staff again refused admission. Finally, she was admitted to a private nursing home, where her long and painful treatment journey began.

“The bill there became so huge that my family simply could not manage it. So they brought me back home. After that, I was taken to hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and finally again to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. In total, I underwent around 25 surgeries, and the entire treatment process took five years. Each surgery needed about two months or more for recovery,” she said.

Today, Sunita suffers from thalassemia and undergoes blood transfusions from time to time. The attack left one of her eyes completely damaged, one ear entirely missing, and both breasts burnt and destroyed.

The institutional denial of justice

“Why should we take a case after so many days? Where were you then? We will not register any case,” she said was the response she received at the Hakimpur Swarupnagar Police Station when she went to file a first information report.

“My family was more concerned about my life and health. My brothers stayed far away, working and sending money for my treatment, and my mother stayed with me in the hospital. It was not possible for us to go and file an FIR at that time. Only when my health improved after five years of surgeries did I go to file the FIR, and this is what I was told,” Sunita said.

The incident took place in 2010, when there was no separate provision in the Indian Penal Code for acid attacks. Such cases were prosecuted under general sections relating to grievous hurt, including Sections 320, 325 and 326 of the IPC. In February 2013, the law was amended to introduce Section 326A, making acid attacks a distinct offence punishable with a minimum imprisonment of 10 years. The law also provides for punishment for denial of treatment to victims and for police officers refusing to register an FIR or record evidence.

“The police did absolutely nothing afterwards—no investigation, no attempt to catch the accused. They only broke open the room where he used to live, found it empty, and that was the end of it. He fled across the Hakimpur border to Bangladesh the same day he attacked me,” Sunita said.

She later became associated with the Acid Survivors and Women’s Welfare Foundation (ASWWF), which helped her apply for compensation mandated by the Supreme Court. After a long struggle, she received Rs 3 lakh.

When the system fails victims

“Acid is still being sold very easily and completely illegally,” advocate Dibyayan Banerji told 101Reporters. “When the police come to know and conduct raids, sellers bribe the police, and the matter is hushed up.”

“In Sunita Dutta’s case, a Look Out Circular could have been issued against the absconding accused soon after the attack, which would have restricted his movement and alerted authorities if he attempted to re-enter India,” Banerji said. “The investigation and trial could also have continued despite his absence, allowing the court to record evidence and preventing the case from going dormant. Unfortunately, in most cases, investigations are carried out negligently, and because of this, the guilty are rarely convicted.”

He pointed to investigative negligence and perfunctory charge sheets that often lead to acquittals.

“In 80 to 90 percent of cases, trials are delayed to such an extent that witnesses turn hostile or disappear. Our judicial system is extremely slow, and speedy justice remains a distant dream. Acid attacks leave victims in shock and hospitalised for years, which helps the accused escape or manipulate the law. Trials can stretch for 10 to 15 years or longer. As a lawyer, I find it deeply shameful that our judiciary is unable to deliver justice swiftly,” Banerji said.

While special courts and one-stop crisis centres have been introduced in several states to address crimes against women, legal practitioners say these mechanisms remain unevenly implemented. Acid attack cases often continue to be tried in regular courts, where delays and lack of prosecutorial follow-through undermine their effectiveness.

Easy availability of acid

Bapi Dasgupta of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) has worked for several years with acid attack survivors, helping them access compensation and advocating an end to unregulated acid sales.

“Hydrochloric acid is sold openly in hardware and sanitation shops. Anyone can buy a litre without questions, registers, or ID proof. Nitric acid is slightly harder to obtain because it is used in jewellery workshops and laboratories, but even that is freely available,” he told 101Reporters.

In Laxmi vs Union of India, the Supreme Court banned over-the-counter sale of acid, restricted sales to persons above 18 with valid photo ID, mandated licensed sellers to maintain sale records, and required reporting of all sales to the police. It also fixed a minimum compensation of Rs 3 lakh for acid attack survivors and ordered acids to be regulated under the Poisons Act.

“A few years ago, we asked the Hooghly district authorities what concrete steps they had taken to stop over-the-counter acid sales. They claimed they had sent circulars to all sub-divisional officers. When we asked for copies, they admitted they couldn’t even locate the file. That is the actual on-ground situation,” Dasgupta said.

“Acid attacks rarely happen among the upper class. Among poorer communities, acid is easily available, and the crime keeps occurring. The burden of this violence falls overwhelmingly on the poor and marginalised, who also have the least resources to navigate the broken justice system or afford private medical care,” he added.

Fifteen years on, still awaiting justice

Sunita, now 29, lives in a rented house in a town in North 24 Parganas with her husband and child. The couple runs a small fast-food stall, where her husband cooks and Sunita works as a helper. She said she stopped attending court hearings years ago and has received no communication from the police or prosecution regarding the status of the case.

According to Sunita, while the case did move through the courts for a period, proceedings effectively stalled after the accused absconded. She was never informed whether the trial formally continued in his absence.

“The case did reach the high court. I went three or four times to appear as a witness. Public prosecutors were appointed, but they never took it seriously. On hearing dates, I would sit for hours—sometimes a prosecutor came, sometimes no one did. I was mentally and physically broken. We didn’t have money for a private lawyer. Eventually, we stopped following it up,” she said.

During this period, social worker Aparajita Ganguli also supported Sunita. “My family has always protected me and given me strength. Aparajita Di, who was associated with the same NGO, also helped me stand with courage and dignity,” Sunita said.

Speaking to 101Reporters, Ganguli said, “I once approached the Bidhannagar Police Commissioner about Sunita’s case. He assured me he would help, but nothing happened. The case remains stagnant. Accused persons get bail far too easily, and compensation of three to four lakh rupees is a mockery. It does not cover lifelong medical care or dignity. Our justice system is a big joke.”

“I was just a child when this happened,” Sunita said. “I used to go to school and dream of achieving something big. All those dreams shattered. I now have my husband, child, mother and brothers, but this is a lifelong scar. No matter how many good things happen, I can never forget it.”

West Bengal’s grim record

According to National Crime Records Bureau data for 2023, India recorded 207 acid attack cases nationwide. West Bengal alone accounted for 57 cases under Section 326A of the IPC, constituting 27.5% of the total.

The state recorded a crime rate of 71.3 per lakh population, with 19,698 cases under Section 498A of the IPC and the highest number of victims at 20,462. West Bengal has topped the country in acid attacks for the fourth consecutive year since 2020, with 34 victims under Section 326A and six attempted cases under Section 326B.

“These incidents keep happening, and there seems to be no remedy,” Dasgupta said. “The police and administration simply don’t care. Their indifference to acid attack cases mirrors their indifference to many other issues.”

(Antara Swarnakar is a freelance journalist and member of 101Reporters.) 

This story has been produced by 101Reporters, an independent news agency with a network of 3,000+ freelance journalists across the country, in collaboration with Crime & Punishment, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.