NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Oct 16 - The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Lakhimpur today presented a financial aid of Rs 1 lakh under Nirbhaya Fund to the victim of acid attack in Bechapatty-Islamgaon of Laluk. The secretary of DLSA, Lakhimpur, Justice Bichitra Dutta presented the cheque to the victim�s family in a simple ceremony at the former�s office in North Lakhimpur.
It may by mentioned here that a family in Bechapatty-Islamgaon under Laluk Police Station of Lakhimpur district was attacked with acid on two consecutive nights on October 4 and 5. The acid attack injured 5 persons � Saleha Khatoon, Hafeeza Khatoon, Anwara Begum, Maamoni Begum and minors Khurshida Begum and Etraz Ali.
It was earlier believed that burglars did the act as some articles of the house were found missing. However, police arrested one Debajeet Das on October 8 from his hideout in Arunachal Pradesh, which led to the finding that it was a case of failed love. According to police, Debajeet attacked the family with acid following the rejection of his love proposal to Maamoni Begum. Another accomplice of the criminal act Musfiqul Rahman was also arrested along with Debajeet Das. The swift action by Lakhimpur police in investigating and arresting the perpetrators of the crime has been lauded across the district.
Nirbhaya Fund is a Rs 100 crore corpus announced by Government of India in its 2013 Union Budget. According to the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram, this fund is expected to support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards protecting the dignity and ensuring safety of women in India. The financial aid is given to the victim family as ex-gratia assistance within 15 days of the incident.
