On Wednesday (25th March), a 28-year-old Mohammad Ismail, from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, was handed life sentence by an Ajmer Women’s Court.
The accused threw acid at a woman and her 12-year-old daughter at the Chittorgarh railway station last year. He was also ordered to pay Rs 2 lakh and failing to comply would add 2 more years to his prison time. The amount will be handed over to the two victims.
The minor suffered partial vision loss in one eye and full blindness in the other due to the attack. The woman also suffered intense pain and severe burns all over her body as the duo spent several days in the hospital. The convict was charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 124(1) (Voluntarily causing grievous damage by use of acid, etc.) by Judge Uttama Mathur.
“Looking at the adverse effects on the future of all victims and the serious nature of the accused’s crime in the facts and circumstances of such cases, he is being punished,” the judgement read.
The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Ajmer, has been instructed to give special compensation to the mother and daughter in accordance with the law in addition to the temporary relief of Rs 1 lakh each that has already been approved by the Chittorgarh DLSA.
Background of the case
The pair boarded a train from Ajmer to Chittorgarh on 25th April 2025. They were waiting at the railway station after arriving in Chittorgarh. The next morning, they had travelled 200 metres from platform number one towards Bhilwara, where the girl was sitting on the tracks, and her mother was relieving herself in adjacent bushes.
At that moment, Ismail arrived there with a bag and a bottle of cold beverage that contained yellow liquid, which turned out to be acid. He flung the material in the underage girl’s face when she tried to stop him and tossed the substance on the mother as well. He then ran away when the latter attempted to apprehend him. The two victims were taken to a hospital in Chittorgarh.
The mother filed a complaint, which prompted the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Chittorgarh to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) and begin an inquiry. After analysing CCTV footage from the Abhay Command Center and a neighbouring liquor store, the offender was found and taken into custody from his hometown. A chargesheet was subsequently submitted to the court by the authorities.
The prosecution, under the direction of Additional Public Prosecutor Naresh Kumar Dhoot, presented 6 significant materials, produced 57 papers and questioned 17 witnesses during the trial. The court also observed a digital recording (pen drive) of the occurrence together with a certificate under Section 63(4) of the Indian Evidence Act. The existence of hydrochloric acid in the victim’s outfit and the bottle recovered at the spot were also verified by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report.
