Acid assault: Man throws three bottles of acid on wife

Fauzia is still in critical condition, police are searching for her husband.

MULTAN: A woman is struggling for her life at the Nishtar Hospital after her husband threw acid on her three days ago.

Jahanian resident Fauzia was brought into Nishtar Hospital Multan with severe burns two days ago. According to Fauzia’s family, her husband Rashid managed to escape and police have still not been able to locate him.

Village-313 Jahanian resident, Rashid, married 22-year-old Fauzia four months ago but the couple often quarreled over finances. “Fauzia often complained that her husband was abusive and beat her. They had a lot of financial problems because Rashid was a drug addict and spent all their money on feeding his addiction,” Fauzia’s neighbour Amna bibi said.

On Thursday evening, the couple had another fight and Rahid threw three bottles of acid on Fauzia. Fauzia sustained severe burns to nearly 75 per cent of her body and fainted. Neighbours contacted her parents and took her to the THQ in Jahanian, where the district superintendent police (DSP) Chaudhery Fateh Muhammad came to investigate.  “Her mother told me that her husband was a drug addict and that he had burnt two-thirds of her body,” Muhammad said.

THQ Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Maqsood Ahmed immediately transferred Fauzia to Nishtar Hospital in Multan. “When I examined her I knew that we couldn’t give her the treatment she needed here. She was burnt beyond recognition and was barely alive,” he said.

Doctors at Nishtar Hospital Multan have said that Fauzia is still in critical condition. “We have referred her to the burn unit and she is being treated but we cannot make any claims. She has sustained third degree burns to nearly all of her body,” said Dr Rahbar Kamal, adding “One can barely see an inch of her skin intact and I am surprised she is still alive.”

Fauzia’s family said that they had filed a case with the police but nothing was being done. “The DSP took our statements but he tried to get us to settle rather than pursue the case,” said Fauzia’s mother. “I want justice for my daughter. I want Rashid to be caught and put in jail,” she said. DSP Muhammad said that the police had been raiding different places to arrest Rashid but according to residents of the area he had left his home early in the morning with his friend Kamran. “He still hasn’t contacted his family members but we are keeping a look out and will catch him soon,” the DSP said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2011.