4,682 accused
Out of a total of 4,682 people accused of acid throwing in the last 11 years only 291 of them have been convicted, said speakers at a press conference yesterday.
The cases caught up in the judicial backlogs date back till 2002, when the phenomenon achieved a paramount proportion of 498 instances of acid-violence in a year, they added.
Acid Survivors’ Foundation (ASF) organised the press conference at Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
“In addition, there have been 12 cases of acid violence in the last thirty days alone,” said Selina Ahmed, executive director of ASF.
Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, noted that acid violence against women and children increases during political instability.
Monira Rahman, former executive director of ASF, said the district acid control committees formed in 2008 are not able to eliminate the phenomenon yet either because they are resource-constrained or because they lack projects to effectively use the resources.
“A number of committees in certain districts have often returned back money from the allotted budget because there are no project directives,” added Monira.
She revealed that Sirajganj is one of the areas most prone to acid violence because it has many textile-weaving cottage industries which require acid for processing of cloth, and civilian possession of the substance is common.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), chaired the session.
-With The Daily Star input
