Acid Attack Victim Passed Away
It is appalling that the Karaikal acid attack victim Vinodhini passed away. Acid attacks are a reflection of the brutal male chauvinistic mentality. A mixture of psycho-social factors, like negative feelings, mental sickness and peer pressure could be the driving force behind the accused taking such extreme steps. The incident should be taken as a wake-up call for the government and the society. This incident should not be taken in isolation as it reflects the state of crime against women in India. The police should not take this case causally instead complete the investigations without delay and make them foolproof so that the culprits do not escape because of poor investigations. The guilty deserve harshest punishment so that it acts as a deterrent for such incidents in future. As many such cases which are gathering dust in the police stations, there should be speedy trial of such cases so that the culprits do not enjoy because of ineffectiveness of the system. No leniency should be shown to the youth responsible for the incident so that nobody dares repeat such a heinous and inhuman act in future.
Due to increasing immorality and materialistic approach, humans have become beasts who are ready to commit criminal acts whenever they find an opportunity. Outraging the modesty and integrity of women is more heinous crime than even killing a person. An acid attack is worse than a murder. The open sale of acid needs to be restricted as spending a meager amount on an acid bottle can ruin the life of a person. The victim had to undergo expensive treatment and needed monetary help to get on with her life. She should have been granted justice as well as financial aid. The police failure to effectively tackle such earlier incidents is also responsible for the repeat of such attacks. In such incidents the perpetrators of the crime are indisputably identified and hence they should be given immediate punishment to send the right message across to potential criminals and to cause effective deterrence to them.
It is appalling that the Karaikal acid attack victim Vinodhini passed away. Acid attacks are a reflection of the brutal male chauvinistic mentality. A mixture of psycho-social factors, like negative feelings, mental sickness and peer pressure could be the driving force behind the accused taking such extreme steps. The incident should be taken as a wake-up call for the government and the society. This incident should not be taken in isolation as it reflects the state of crime against women in India. The police should not take this case causally instead complete the investigations without delay and make them foolproof so that the culprits do not escape because of poor investigations. The guilty deserve harshest punishment so that it acts as a deterrent for such incidents in future. As many such cases which are gathering dust in the police stations, there should be speedy trial of such cases so that the culprits do not enjoy because of ineffectiveness of the system. No leniency should be shown to the youth responsible for the incident so that nobody dares repeat such a heinous and inhuman act in future.
Due to increasing immorality and materialistic approach, humans have become beasts who are ready to commit criminal acts whenever they find an opportunity. Outraging the modesty and integrity of women is more heinous crime than even killing a person. An acid attack is worse than a murder. The open sale of acid needs to be restricted as spending a meager amount on an acid bottle can ruin the life of a person. The victim had to undergo expensive treatment and needed monetary help to get on with her life. She should have been granted justice as well as financial aid. The police failure to effectively tackle such earlier incidents is also responsible for the repeat of such attacks. In such incidents the perpetrators of the crime are indisputably identified and hence they should be given immediate punishment to send the right message across to potential criminals and to cause effective deterrence to them.
The victim could have been anybody’s daughter. The cowardly acid attack proves that for a woman, even walking on the road in the broad daylight is not safe. What message should we convey to the women of our homes? Should we not let them go outside homes? We should not only amend the anti-rape laws, but even make other laws on crime against women such as stalking, eve-teasing, sexual advances and domestic violence more stringent. Women are insecure in the light of the existing laws. The investigation and judiciary norms need to be modified to ascertain the loopholes. I strongly condemn the act and the persons behind this act and condole the death of Vinothini, yet another victim of sexual violence.
News Brief in The Hindu dated 12-02-2013
Vinodhini, Karaikal acid attack victim, dies
Vinodhini, a 23-year-old woman, who suffered grievous burns three months ago in an acid attack by a man whose advances she had rejected, succumbed to the injuries on Tuesday at a private hospital here.
The crime took place in Karaikal, an enclave of the Puducherry Union Territory, on November 14 last year.
Doctors at the hospital said she had suffered a cardiac arrest. Plastic surgeon V. Jayaraman, who was treating her since the attack, said, “We twice tried to revive her heart. We also gave her blood. But the protein levels were low as she did not have enough nourishment.”
Vinodhini, a B.Tech graduate, was employed in a private company in the city and lived in a working women’s hostel in Saidapet. Her father, Jayapal, is a watchman in a private school in Karaikal. The assailant, Suresh, alias Appu, was a family acquaintance. Suresh was a construction labourer who had befriended Jayapal and over a period of time had also loaned him money.
On November 14, Vinodhini was walking with her father to the Karaikal bus terminus after visiting her parents for Deepavali. Before she could board a bus to Chennai, Suresh accosted them and threw nitric acid at her. Vinodhini and her father Jayapal suffered injuries.
“Though Vinodhini’s father had returned the money, Suresh kept pestering him and once we even lodged a complaint with the police. He was reprimanded but he continued taunting the father every time he got an opportunity. But we never thought he would attack Vinodhini. He had even sought her hand in marriage, but Jayapal had pointed out that she was highly qualified and advised him to give up such thoughts,” Vinodhini’s uncle Ramesh said.
After the attack, she was rushed to a private hospital in Karaikal, where first aid was administered. She was then referred to JIPMER, Puducherry. On November 15, she was transferred to the Government Kilpauk Hospital, Chennai, which has a burns ward that specialises in treating acid attack victims. But the injuries were extensive, with her nose, eyes and ears, suffering irreversible damage. After Dr. Jayaraman retired from KMC, she sought to be moved to a private hospital where he could treat her.
For several weeks doctors continued dressing her wounds and waited for the acid reaction to subside so that they could assess the damage. But within a week it became apparent that she had lost sight in both eyes.
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