Acid crime: Man throws acid on ex-wife for seeking child support

The woman had retaken custody of their children and wanted the man to pay child support.

RAWALPINDI:

A man allegedly threw acid on his ex-wife in the Pirwadhai area on Tuesday. The couple had been engaged in a legal battle over maintenance allowance for their two children, who are living with the woman.

According to police sources, the victim, Yasmin Naz, sustained burn injuries on her thigh and an arm after her ex-husband threw acid on her.

The victim told the police that she had filed a case in the family courts against Azhar Shahzad to make him pay child support.

The Pirwadhai police have registered a criminal case against the attacker and have started searching for him.

In her complaint, Naz stated that she was standing outside her beauty parlour in Mohallah Lahoran, Muslimabad, in the afternoon when Azhar threw acid at her.

The Pirwadhai Police Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Malik Tahir Mehmood confirmed the registration of an FIR against the alleged attacker.

Sharing information with The Express Tribune, the SHO said that earlier, Naz had lodged a complaint with the police asking for their help in forcing her ex-husband to pay child support.

She withdrew the complaint later after she was persuaded that only a family court could force Azhar to pay the monthly child maintenance stipend.

Earlier, the SHO said that she had taken back possession of the children from Azhar with the help of a former nazim of the area union council. He said that after getting divorced, Naz started living with her parents, opened a beauty parlour and handed over custody of the children to their father, Azhar. The SHO added that she later entered another marriage with a man, which also ended in divorce.

After the end of the second marriage, she approached Azhar to retake custody of the children, which Azhar agreed to upon the intervention of a UC representative. The police officer said that the matter was being thoroughly investigated and hoped that the attacker would be tracked down and arrested soon.

Under the recently approved Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill, any person found guilty of committing acid crimes can be given a maximum punishment of  life imprisonment with a fine of up to Rs1 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2012.