Acid violence on the rise, authorities pay no heed

“It feels uneasy going out. Everyone keeps staring at my face, ” said Md Asad Mondal (20), sharing his pains with this correspondent.

He’s a first year student at the political science department of Chittagong University. He was admitted to the university just two days prior to becoming an acid victim.

He spoke from his aunt’s house in Mirpur in the capital on 12 January. He had travelled from Gaibandha to Dhaka with his father to see a physician.

He had acid burns on his head, left side of the face, shoulder, back, chest and hands. It is painful to shut his eyes close as his eyelids have been burnt. The lips are totally burnt.

According to case sources, Asad’s uncle and aunt threw acid on him while he was asleep on 29 September night last year, over a land dispute. His younger brother Asib Mondal (14), who was sleeping next to him at the time, was burnt as well.

As per Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) data, 17 incidents of acid violence left 27 people burnt in 2022. Sixteen of them are women, nine men with two children. This statistics indicates a rise in acid violence.

Experts say that acid violence has reduced. Owing to such complacence among the policy makers, law enforcement and monitoring has grown weak.  Police aren’t taking quick action in cases filed under acid control act.

No investigations are made as to how the accused are getting their hands on acid. Initiatives of raising awareness among people have diminished as well.

When asked, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told Prothom Alo, "I’m not aware of any new acid violence cases.” When informed about 27 persons being victims of acid violence last year, he said, “Earlier, there used to be three to four cases a day, and now it has come down to 27 a year.”

As for police negligence in probing acid-related cases, the home minister said, "I have to check before commenting on that.”

Prothom Alo has been campaigning against acid violence and working to help acid burn victims since 2000. Back then, employees of the organisation had formed a fund with one day's salary each. People from a cross section of the society contributed to this fund later.

Prothom Alo has worked with ASF and BRAC as well. Prothom Alo Trust has been working with acid burn victims since 2009.

So far 457 acid burn victims have been provided with self-employment opportunities, vocational training, houses (for the landless), monthly allowances as well as educational, legal and medical assistance.

It has been found after analysing incidents from the past couple of years that maximum number of acid violence occurs over property-related disputes.

About half of the acid violence incidents occurring between 2006 and 2011 happened in connection to land disputes alone.

Such incidents came down to one-fourth from 2015. And finally, it dropped lower than 20 per cent between 2017 and 2022.

There have been maximum five incidents in 2022 over land disputes and refusal of neighbour’s illicit proposal.

Four of the incidents were committed by husbands for dowry, one by an ex-husband, one by the in-laws, one by an ex-lover and the remaining five incidents were caused by relatives, family friends and acquaintances.

As much as 59 per cent of the victims are women.

Executive director of ASF Sarder Jahangir Hossain told Prothom Alo that a sort of laxness can be noticed on every level from the policymakers to the media, assuming that acid violence has gone down.

Weakness in monitoring over raising awareness about selling acid and reducing violence may result in a rise in violence.

ASF has been keeping records of acid violence since 1999. According to the organisation’s data, 3,870 people have been burnt with acid in 24 years from 1999 to 2022.  

In 1999, 168 people had fallen victim to acid attack. Maximum 496 people were burnt in 2002. The number acid burn victims started thinning down since 2003.

There have been 22 victims in 2018; 21 in 2019; 22 in 2020; 19 in 2021 and 27 in 2022 after a rise.

Tanvir Ahmed, an associate professor of plastic surgery at Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, told Prothom Alo that the wounds of people burnt with fire or hot water heals with time.

But acid burn-injuries run deeper. The skin on the deeper layers burn to such degree, it can’t be restored. The treatment has to be continued for five to six years.

Asad’s house is in Uttar Shabaz village under Shorbananda union of Gaibandha’s Shunarganj upazila.

He said he had acid thrown at him in the middle of the night over a dispute centering the sharing of Tk 4.6 million they earned by selling his grandfather’s lands.  

On 30 September, the second day of the incident, Asad’s mother Anwara Begum filed a case under the acid control act against Asad’a uncle Rashedul Islam (32), aunt Mukta Begum (28) and aunt’s brother Mehedi Hasan (30) over the incident of throwing acid on both of her sons.

Police has submitted charge sheet against the three of them. His aunt surrendered and now she’s out on bail while the other two are on the run.

About arresting the accused, in charge of Bamandanga police investigation cell under Shundarganj police station Shafikuzzaman told Prothom Alo that the perpetrators didn’t use mobile phones so, they are unable to track them down.

Nasrin Begum (45) lives in Rajapasha village under Jhalakathi’s Shkherhat union.

Her sister-in-law Taslima Begum told Prothom Alo over the phone that Nasrin used to live in Gazipur’s Maona with her husband Md Faruk.

They began to fight when he wished to marry someone else. Her husband hurled acid at her on 18 March last year.

Nasrin alleged, even after filling a case against her husband in Jhalakathi there’s no action on police’s part.   

However, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) inspector in Barishal Matiur Rahman told Prothom Alo that the incident is from Gazipur and the victim has to file the case there.

But Taslima said they don’t have enough money to travel to Gazipur to file a case there.

When attempts were made to contact Nasrin’s husband over the phone, his phone was found switched off.

Khandaker Farzana Rahman, chairman of criminology department at Dhaka University, told Prothom Alo that acid violence cannot lose focus just because it has reduced. Rather, it calls for research to stop this crime entirely after understanding the reasons behind why this crime is still happening.

A integrated system has to be established in the society to prevent this crime, she added.