The ministry called a high-level meet of representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi, in the national Capital and directed them to take all possible steps to stop these incidents.
Concerned about the rise in the number of acid attacks across four states, including Delhi, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the enforcement agencies on Tuesday to strictly restrict the sale and procurement of acid in open market.
The ministry called a high-level meet of representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi, in the national Capital and directed them to take all possible steps to stop these incidents.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2015, a total of 366 incidents of acid attacks were reported from across the country. The maximum number of cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh (72), followed by West Bengal (59). Delhi came in third with 30 cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 20 cases.
All these states made a representation before the ministry about the arrangements they have made to prevent these incidents. The representatives of the enforcement agencies of these states also said that they were properly registering such cases under the amended section 326 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The 18th Law Commission of India, headed by Justice AR Lakshmanan, had proposed a new section — 326A — to be added to the IPC, and section 114B to be added to the Indian Evidence Act to effectively deal with the menace. The commission had also proposed a new law to provide compensation to the victims. On the basis of these recommendations, the Centre had added new sections under the Criminal Law (amendment) Act, 2013.
The representatives said that acid was being sold in various shops despite its sale being banned by the Supreme Court (SC). They further said that the state governments have not yet come up with any policy regarding issuing of licenses to shopkeepers for sale and procurement of acid. They demanded an immediate ban on the retail sale of acid, and strict action against those who sold and procured acid in Delhi.
The ministry stated that as per the SC directions, a draft 'Poisons Possession and Sales Rules 2013' was to be formulated by all states and Union Territories. In 2013, and then again in 2015, the ministry had issued an advisory to the states regarding measures to be taken to prevent acid attacks on people, and free treatment and rehabilitation of the victims.
As per the advisory, the states and Union Territories (UT) where rules to regulate sale of acid and other corrosive substances have not been formulated, Chief Secretaries and Administrators were to ensure that the sale of acid was completely prohibited, unless the seller maintained a record of the sale, with details such as the identity of the buyer and the quantity of substance sold.
On Tuesday, the ministry expressed unhappiness that despite the advisories being issued, the state governments were yet to come up with a policy to regulate and monitor storing, procurement and sale of acid.
The ministry also inquired about the status of the Central Victim Compensation Fund, which includes compensation for the victims of acid attacks. To this, the states responded that a compensation of Rs 3 lakh was being disbursed to victims and cases were swiftly being taken up for probe.
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