By Ila Ananya
In a horrifying case of violence, a woman in Uttar Pradesh was forced to drink acid by two men on a train, when she was on her way from Allahabad to Lucknow.
The woman knew her attackers—it’s obvious that the police has done nothing about any of her complaints, because this was the fourth time she was attacked by the same men.
The woman who was attacked only managed to tell the government railway police what had happened after she got off the train at Lucknow and wrote down what happened to her on a piece of paper because she was in pain and couldn’t speak. The police, however, say that an FIR will only be filed if her husband files a complaint.
In 2009, the woman had been gang raped by the same men, whom she was reportedly having a property dispute with in Unchahar (close to Lucknow) where she is from. Evidently, no action was taken against the perpetrators, who later in 2012, attacked her with a knife. After no action was taken against them even after this, the woman was attacked with acid in 2013.
The almost infuriatingly unbelievable fact that these men were let out on bail time and again and returned to attack her and were still let out on bail even though the police knew this is outrageous. Hindustan Times reports that people who worked with the woman say she had to constantly face threats (even in January this year), even her daughter was targeted at some point.
At the moment, security measures have finally been given to the woman and her family. She’s also been given Rs 1 lakh. But this shocking case only shows that it’s obvious that the police have been incredibly lax, and their inaction has meant that the woman has had to face abuse and violence time and again. As always and in every way, it’s women who continue to face violence all the time—why wasn’t anything done, and why weren’t her complaints taken seriously?