After the death of ludhiana girl Harpreet Kaur in Mumbai following an acid attack, Punjab Government has finally decided to regulate the sale of “lethal weapon” the SIM card way.
The State Government would now ensure that the “deadly liquid” is not sold without having complete details of the buyer, including the identity proof, and residential address. Besides, the State Government has proposed to maintain a proper record of the total stock a shopkeeper has.
If this is not enough, the State Government has also decided that the teams of representatives of the State’s Food and Supply Department, Police and Health department will altogether raid the shops selling acid.
With the State Government still in the process of finalising its all-inclusive policy to check the misuse of acid, and yet to implement the steps thus proposed, the acid attacks on luckless people are unending — some came into light, while some go unnoticed.
The recent incident of an acid attack on a bride Harpreet Kaur in ludhiana’s beauty parlour shop has once again given fire to the need of having a policy to check its sale and ensure adequate compensation to its victims. Harpreet died in Mumbai on Friday.
“We are taking care that the policy includes all the necessary points and things which needs to be covered. It may take some more time, though we have zeroed in on lot many things including the compensation part,” a senior Punjab Government official told The Pioneer requesting anonymity.
The official said that the first and the foremost thing that need to be addressed was “to regulate its sale. There is a dire need to deal strictly with the shopkeepers who openly sell acid”.
“After the policy came into effect, the shopkeepers who have sold the acid would also be taken to task every time any incident of acid attack took place. The shopkeeper selling acid will also be considered involved in the crime along with the accused,” the official added.