Delhi court convicts man in 2017 acid attack case

PTI, Nov 23, 2024, 6:36 PM IST

“Scars for life, acid attack is devastating” observed a Delhi court while convicting an accused in a case where he threw acid on a man and his two minor daughters in 2017.

Additional Sessions Judge Aditi Garg was hearing a case against Raghav Mukhiya against whom the Khyala Police Station had registered a case for attacking the victims with acid on February 18, 2017.

The court noted the medico-legal case (MLC), according to which one of the girls aged 11 suffered around 40 per cent “grievous” burns, while the 14-year-old girl suffered 20 per cent burns and their father had 10 per cent burns injuries.

The court said the testimonies of the victims were corroborated by the statements of other prosecution witnesses, which established that the accused threw acid on them.

It termed as “hollow” the argument of defence counsel that Mukhiya, “an innocent tribal”, was falsely implicated after some people attacked the man as the residents of the area were “fed up” with the victim selling illicit liquor.

The court also trashed as “untenable” the contention that there was a delay in reporting the matter to police.

“Scars for life. The glaring and inhuman act of acid attack has increased rampantly. It has transcended religion, gender and caste, across the world. Acid attacks are not only against women but also against minor children and it may be out of revenge or strong hostility,” the court observed in its order dated November 8.

“The aim of the culprit is not to kill the victim(s) but to leave them in a crippled condition which will hamper their day-to-day task and which will lead to conditions unacceptable by society. Acid attack leaves scars and injuries on the body which are far from being healed,” it noted.

The court said that the scars of an acid attack are also psychological, manifesting in forms such as the loss of an individual’s self-worth or identity.

“Acid attack is immediate and devastating. The present case reflects the lethality of acid attack in scarring for life an adult and two minors,” the court said.

It said the prosecution had successfully proved its case and it was established beyond a reasonable doubt that Mukhiya committed an offence under Section 326 A (acid attack) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“Accordingly, the accused is convicted,” the court said.

The court has posted the hearing on the arguments on sentencing to a later date.

According to the complaint, the accused had attacked the man and his daughters in a bid to take revenge after being scolded by the man for loitering around his house.