Court convicts man for acid attack on woman in 2022

Srinagar, Mar 4: The Principal Sessions court here on Monday convicted a man for throwing acid on a 24-year-old woman in the Hawal area here in February 2022.

Principal Sessions Judge Srinagar Jawad Ahmed convicted Sajid Altaf Sheikh son of Muhammad Altaf Sheikh of Buchwara Dalgate after finding him guilty for commission of offence under section 326-A(voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In March 2022, the Court had framed charges against Sheikh and another accused Muhammad Saleem Kumar son of Abdul Gani Kumar of Dalgate Srinagar, who allegedly provided acid used in the attack.

Nearly after two years of fast track trial, while the court found Sheikh culpable of the crime and convicted him, it acquitted Kumar of grave charges under 326-A which “provides for minimum ten years of jail which may extend to life imprisonment and with fine”.

However, the court convicted Kumar for commission of offence under section 336 (whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others of IPC)

The court quantum of punishment of the accused is likely to be pronounced today.

The court had framed the charges against the duo, 24 days after police filed a nearly 1000-page charge-sheet for offences under 326-A and 120-B (criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In the case, two chargesheets were filed, one against two accused adults and one against a minor before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

The incident of the attack had sent shudders and shock across Kashmir in the evening of February 1, 2022 when the main accused accompanied by a juvenile had thrown acid on the 24-year-old woman after she rejected his marriage proposal.

Following the incident, police constituted a special investigation team headed by the then officers- SP North Raja Zuhaib, Yasir Parrey (SDPO) Khanyar, SHOs of police stations Safakadal and Nowhatta beside SHO of Women’s Police station Srinagar as its members to investigate the case (FIR No 08/2022) under section 326-A and 120-B IPC)