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Acid attack activist Ria Sharma accuses paper of 'biased reporting' after getting booked for duping victims

The founder of Make Love Not Scars, an NGO that works with acid attack survivors, Ria Sharma recently shared a Facebook post after an FIR was registered against her two months ago for allegedly ‘duping an acid attack survivor’.

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The founder of Make Love Not Scars, an NGO that works with acid attack survivors, Ria Sharma recently shared a Facebook post after an FIR was registered against her two months ago for allegedly ‘duping an acid attack survivor’.

Sharma, 26, shared the post after a Mid Day report on February 27 said that the Byculla police had booked her under section 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code on December 31, 2017 at the Bandra police station on December 31, 2017.

According to that report, Sharma had been duping  Daulat Khan, an acid attack survivor from Mumbai by stealing her funds, following which the survivor filed a complaint with the Byculla police.

Hitting out at the publication for publishing the story without taking her side, Sharma wrote, “The journalists from Mid Day were sent all my proofs, including all the screenshots I have attached but they were relentless in their pursuit against me…”

In her post, Sharma says, “I started raising funds for this survivor after I was contacted by the hospital that was treating her. This hospital had reached out to multiple NGO’s as they required a large sum of funds. A fellow NGO run by Daulat Khan, an acid attack survivor herself called me up when they realized we were raising funds and told me that this was “her case” and that I should back of. I contacted the hospital, who in turn gave me a written declaration from their side so I continue my fundraising efforts. The next morning when I did not shut my campaign I woke up to threats from Daulat, who threatened to ruin my reputation as she did not receive enough “credit”.”

Sharma also alleges in her post that Daulat convinced the acid attack victim to lodge a complaint against her with the Byculla police. “When the complaint did not materialize as the case lacked merit, she found a survivor from my past (Lalita) and with the help of Lalita and her Doctor (who happens to be a Padmashree awardee by the way), filed another complaint against me at the Bandra police station. Daulat didn’t stop there and took 5 other survivors with her as complainants, survivors that I have never even met. It’s safe to mention here that two of those complainants also happen to be her family members,” she added.

See the full post here.

Sharma has also shared all the emails and correspondence she has made with all the people who have tried smearing her name, trying to prove her innocence. While she has had a fair share of support on social media, there are those who are still critical.

Sharma recently won the UN Leadership Award for her work for acid attack survivors through her organisation Make Love Not Scars (MLNS).

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