Dehradun:Despite the Supreme court's order on the ban of the open sale of acid, there seems to be no strong implementation of laws regulating the sale of the corrosive and illegal liquid.
Illegal acid sale continues in Dehradun despite ban The ban on the sale of acid was imposed in 2013, six years after the direction, one can easily find acid being sold in shops only for Rs. 25.
Uttarakhand has recorded 10-12 acid attacks till date. The administration has been constantly claiming to ban the illegal sale of acid, but the reality looks far from this.
In order to have a reality check of the laxity of the law, ETV Bharat's reporter undertook a sting in Dehradun and purchased acid without being asked for details in different areas of the state capital.
Jaswant Singh Kandari, District Supply Officer, said, "Illegal sale of acid is a punishable offence, new provisions regarding the sale of acid were brought three years ago and according to those guidelines, licences were issued to the shopkeepers. Guidelines by the apex court state that the one who is to purchase the acid should be asked for his identity documents."
Talking on the rules to sell and buy acid he says that, a person who wants to buy acid must have a substantiated reason and Aadhar card to buy it. Without this information, the sale and purchase of acid is considered illegal. He said that the liquid sold in shops as toilet cleaner is also in the category of acid as it has H2So4. Anybody can be hurt by using this. To sell this toilet cleaner, every shopkeeper has to maintain a register with details of the buyer. Not doing so amounts to crime.
To testify their claims, our team went to various markets in the city. The result of this on ground reality check was shocking. Our team was surprised when after talking to the official, we found acid being openly sold at a provision store in the posh Nehru Colony area.
When asked the shopkeeper for the acid, he without any hesitation handed over a bottle of acid for 25 rupees only. When we confronted the shopkeeper with the question of acid being sold like this, he said that this is toilet cleaner and it is harmless for humans.
This was not the case at one or two shops, but at all the shops the scene was the same. Our team found out that, barring the main intersections and markets of the city, acid is readily available at all shops and stores of colonies etc. ETV Bharat tried to portray the ground reality of acid sale and misuse of the laws regarding it.
Now, the onus is on the administration to take note of the same and imitate action which sets an example.
Also, read: Acid attack victims must be provided help for rest of their lives: Survivor
