Woman suffers burns in 'acid' attack in city

Just past 7:30am yesterday in the capital's Hazaribagh, Aklima Akhter left her house to drop her five-year-old daughter off at a kindergarten. A few yards out, a man dressed in a black shirt and pants was sitting on a stack of bricks with a cup in hand.

There was nothing suspicious about him. Then suddenly he got up and threw the liquid in the cup at Aklima and left her with burns on her face, neck and chest.

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She is now undergoing treatment at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Aklima suffered five percent burns. Her daughter was unharmed.

Talking to The Daily Star at the hospital, both Aklima and her husband, 33-year-old Jubair Hossain, said they suspected a relative, who is also a neighbour, of hiring the attacker for the crime.

A witness, Fahima Begum, 50, said she saw the attacker when she looked out of her window before the incident. When Aklima neared Fahima's house, the man got up and went a few steps ahead. Aklima stopped and the two had a chat.

Minutes after they finished talking, Fahima went back inside. She then heard Aklima screaming. She ran out and saw the man jumping over a nearby wall to flee. He had a cap on which partially covered his face so she couldn't see him clearly, Fahima said, adding that he looked about 20-22 years old.

Locals said they handed over the cup to police.

Partha Sanker Paul, resident surgeon of the burn unit of DMCH, said Aklima had sustained injuries to her right eye.

Around 7:00pm, Deputy Commissioner Maruf Hossain Sorder (Ramna Division) said police were interrogating a suspect. No one had been arrested till filing of this report.

Police and doctors suspect the liquid in the cup was acid. 

According to Acid Survivor Foundation, incidents of acid violence have gradually decreased in the country. The number of acid attacks across the country came down to 47 last year from 496 in 2002.