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Updated: Jun 25, 2019 12:18 IST

The Criminal Injury Compensation Board (CICB), Shimla, awarded Rs. 8 lakh compensation to the 2004 acid attack victim from Shimla on Sunday.

The four-member board, headed by the district and sessions judge-cum-chairman of the District Legal Service Authority, Shimla, Rajeev Bhardwaj, passed the orders.

Other three members of the board included district magistrate, Shimla, Amit Kashyap, superintendent of police Omapati Jamwal and chief medical officer, Shimla, Niraj Mittal.

Board observed that the disfigurement of face must have caused a great mental trauma to the victim besides adversely affecting the marriage prospects and chances of further employment for her.

“Face is often the seat of recognition for a human being and living with a burn injury is a challenging task. Facial disfigurement significantly affects personal identity and access to social roles,” the board said.

Board further said that the victim was entitled for the compensation from the state and should be awarded Rs. 8 lakh so that she may not face any difficulty in getting plastic surgery due to financial considerations.

During the course of proceedings, the victim stated that she had spent about Rs. 8 lakh on her treatment and now she intended to get another plastic surgery done, for which she required around Rs. 12 lakh.

SUPREME COURT ORDERED ACCUSED TO PAY Rs. 1.5 LAKH EACH

The case dates back to July 12, 2004, when accused Vijay Kumar and Daljit Singh threw acid on the victim, who was then a first-year BSc student, in New Shimla area when she was on her way to college.

She suffered severe burns on her face, arms and hands. She was taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed with 16% burns. It was the first such case in the state and had led to huge outrage among Shimla residents and students taking to the streets.

The accused were arrested in a week and were booked for attempt to murder. A local court had awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 5,000 each to the accused. Later in 2008, on the appeal of the accused in the Himachal Pradesh high court, their sentence was reduced to five years and fine enhanced to Rs. 25,000 each.

Hearing an appeal against the high court judgment, the Supreme Court in March 19, 2019, termed the acid attack an “uncivilised” and “heartless” crime and ordered the two convicts to pay Rs. 1.5 lakh each to the survivor, saying they deserve no leniency.