Easy availability! DCW issues notice to Amazon, Flipkart over sale of acid

New Delhi, Dec 15: In the wake of recent acid attack incident on a class 12 student in the national capital, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday issued notices to e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart over the alleged sale of acid on their shopping platform.

Calling the easy availability of acid online a matter of grave concern, the DCW chief Swati Maliwal sought a detailed action taken report from the two firms by December 20. "The Commission has learnt that accused bought acid through 'Flipkart' & that acid is easily available on 'Amazon' & 'Flipkart' which is illegal," the letter reads as DCW seeks details on the same. The letter further seeks to know whether the licence of the seller was checked before posting the acid product on the online platform.

The three men arrested for allegedly throwing acid-like substance on a 17-year-old girl near National Capital's Dwarka area on Wednesday morning. The schoolgirl was rushed to Safdarjung hospital for treatment The preliminary report suggests that she is stable. ''The patient is conscious, well oriented and afebrile. She has suffered 8 per cent chemical burns on the face. Eyes have also been affected. Treatment is on. Ophthalmologists are also providing conservative and supportive treatment. She continues to be in the Burn ICU,'' news agency PTI quoted a doctor attending the victim as saying.

The three have been identified as Sachin Arora (20), Harshit Aggarwal (19), and Virender Singh (22). The police revealed that revenge was the motive behind the incident as the student ended her 'friendship' with the main accused Sachin few months ago.

The police further informed that the accused probably threw nitric acid on the victim which was ordered through an e-commerce portal. However, the type of acid used in the crime will be confirmed after a forensic examination, news agency PTI reported.

Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Sagar Preet Hooda told a press conference that the acid used in the attack was procured through an e-commerce portal and payment was made by Arora through an e-wallet. In a statement, police said on the basis of technical evidence, it was found that the acid was procured on Flipkart. There was no immediate response from the e-commerce portal. During interrogation, it was learnt that Arora and the victim were friends till September. They fell out and this led the accused to attack her, Hooda said, adding that he lived in the girl's neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the father of the 17-year-old acid attack survivor in Delhi's Dwarka area said if he had known about any such harassment, he would have taken care of and dropped her to school. The father added that he had no clue who could have done such a thing and insisted his daughter never complained about any harassment, news agency PTI reported.

Acid attack in India

Nine years have passed since the Supreme Court imposed a nationwide ban on over-the-counter sale of acid or a similarly corrosive liquid without a licence. Yet, they are readily available on online platforms. The most common types of acid utilized in these incident include sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acid.

What is an acid attack? An acid attack is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another 'with the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill'. Perpetrators of these attacks throw corrosive liquids at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. Acid attacks can lead to permanent, partial, or complete blindness.

Acid attack on women is increasing day by day. According to the data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, around 200-250 acid attack cases are reported in India every year.

Among the states, West Bengal topped the list, followed by Uttar Pradesh have been reporting the highest number of acid attack cases since the past few years. West Bengal saw 185 cases of acid attack, while in UP, the reported cases were 137 between 2018 and 2021.

Meanwhile in 2021, several states have reported zero cases of acid attack- Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Among the Union Territories, only Delhi (9 cases) and Jammu and Kashmir (3 cases) have reported acid attacks. Rest of the UTs registered zero cases.