Srinagar Acid Attack: City Court Frames Charges Against Two Accused

A Srinagar Court has framed charges against two accused of three involved in an acid attack case in which a 24-year-old woman suffered grave injuries in Srinagar on February 1. Reportedly, a board was also constituted by Juvenile Justice Board to decide whether the third accused, who is minor, can be treated as an adult in the trial in accord with the Juvenile Justice Act amendment which allows 16–18-year-olds to be tried as adults in case of heinous crimes.

Accused Sajid Altaf Rather and Mohammad Saleem Kumar have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid) by Principal Sessions Judge (Srinagar) Jawad Ahmed. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for March 30.

The accused can face a minimum of ten years of imprisonment which can be extended to life imprisonment upon the court’s discretion.

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Srinagar Acid Attack Case

The survivor sustained severe injuries to her eyes and face and is undergoing treatment for her eye. She was attacked by the accused on February 1 in the Hawal area of the city. The prime accused—Sajid Altaf—accompanied by the minor, threw acid on the survivor while she was returning home from her work. During the police investigation, it was revealed that the prime accused was furious over the survivor’s rejection of his marriage proposal and thus exacted revenge by pouring acid on her.

A report quoted SSP Rakesh Balawal, expressing satisfaction over the progress of the trial.  He had said that the city police will ensure the accused are sentenced sooner and that the aim of city police is for the case to become a milestone in the history of the expeditious trial. He said this case should deter others who harbour similar thoughts from committing the crime.

The Srinagar Police had swiftly arrested the three within 24 hours of the incident. Police officials filed a charge sheet on February 22 against the two adults in the city court and another one before the Juvenile Justice Board. Purportedly, the juvenile assisted the police to recover the bottle in which they had stored the acid.