A woman, fed up with blackmail, allegedly threw acid on a man named Aslam within the limits of Saddar Police Station on Tuesday.
Aslam, a resident of village No.58/4, was sleeping outside his house when the accused Abida allegedly threw acid on him before fleeing the scene.
Aslam’s face and eyes were badly injured and he rushed to Bahawalpur as his condition became critical. The attack was motivated by the fact that the accused and the victim had a prior relationship which has since ended, but the victim did not want to end the relationship.
Residents of the area told The Express Tribune that Abida and Aslam lived in the same street and reportedly had an intimate relationship.
Abida, a mother of four and a housewife, wanted to end the relationship, but Aslam wanted to maintain it. He reportedly used to harass and blackmail her repeatedly.
In fact, Aslam himself brought the acid and had asked Abida to throw it on her husband in order to kill him. He also promised Abida that he would take care of her children. Abida reportedly grew angry with the repeated insistence, upon which she reportedly took the extreme measure of throwing acid on Aslam.
The police registered an FIR against Abida upon the complaint of Aslam’s son, after which she was arrested. Aslam’s face and chest were burned in the incident. Rescue service reached the spot and shifted the victim to Bahawalpur after initial treatment.
Throwing acid on someone is one of the few crimes considered worse than murder. The ordeal leads him physically and emotionally traumatised for life. In a historic decision in 2019, the Supreme Court declared acid attacks as “a crime greater than murder”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2023.
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