15 years later, justice for acid attack survivor in Kulgam

Kulgam, Jul 24: A fast-track court in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Thursday sentenced two men to three years’ imprisonment and ordered Rs 35 lakh in compensation for a 2010 acid attack that blinded a local teacher and left his wife severely burned.

The verdict marked the culmination of a 15-year legal battle driven by the survivor, who refused to let the case die despite fading public memory.

“She (victim’s wife) kept the case alive,” said Chief Prosecuting Officer Zia-u-Rehman. “Her perseverance made this day possible.”

The assault occurred in 2010 when the couple was at home.

Nazir Ahmad  Deedad, a Rehbari Taleem (RET) by profession, was offering Maghrib prayers at his home in Kolinad Devsar in Kulgam district while his wife Hajra, stepped away to bring food for the men, whom she assumed were guests.

In that brief moment, they threw acid on him.

The attack triggered outrage at the time, but the case languished for years until the woman’s relentless pursuit brought it back into the courtroom.

“For us, the pain never faded,” Hajra said. “His blindness, my scars, the daily court visits changed our whole life.”

During sentencing, the prosecution pushed for harsher punishment, while the defence sought leniency.

However, the fast-track court stressed the severity of the crime and the importance of victim restitution.

“I am convinced that the accused are guilty and therefore liable for offences under section 452, 307, 326 and 34 RPC. The prosecution has been successful in establishing the case,” concluded the judgment of Additional Session Judge Kulgam, Parvaiz Iqbal.

Announcing the sentencing, the court said the duo is given rigorous imprisonment of three years.

“The compensation is to be split between the couple in a 66:33 ratio,” the court announced.

On Monday, the duo Muhammad Yasen Kully and Muhammad Iqbal Kully, both of Lamad village in Devsar, were found guilty under Sections 452, 307, 326, and 34 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). The case was registered as FIR No 214/2010 at the Police Station Qazigund shortly after the attack. “This judgment is more than a sentence, it’s an acknowledgement of what it took to fight back,” a prosecution official said.