Crime against women: Lecturer attacked with acid

Witnesses said the three assailants were riding two motorcycles.

LAHORE:

Three men threw acid at a University of Management and Technology lecturer on Tuesday. District Superintedent  Anwer Saeed Kingra of Chuhng police said Faiza Ashraf* was attacked near her home in the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Housing Society.

Police said that Ashraf had taken a rickshaw from the university and was entering her home when unidentified men threw a polythene bag filled with concentrated acid at her. The DSP said that the bag hit the door and only a small amount of the acid came into contact with her face.

Witnesses said that the three assailants were riding two motorcycles.

The woman was taken to the Jinnah Hospital by a Rescue 1122 team where doctors said that 20 per cent of her face had been affected. Doctors treating her said the acid had affected her eyes.

They said it was too early to say whether or not her eyesight had been affected. A Jinnah Hospital assistant medical superintendent said she would likely survive.

Police said that her father had submitted a complaint at the Sattukatla police station, but had not named a suspect. They said an FIR would be registered after they recorded her statement. Her father said she was going to be married next month. Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique also visited the hospital and directed doctors to take special care of the woman. He assured the victim’s family that the government would bear the cost of her treatment.

* Name has been changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2014.