TNI Bureau: After a long period of struggle and prayers, the acid attack victim Sonali Mukherjee was finally granted a reconstructive surgery. She became the prey of a horrific acid attack crime ten years back when she was 17. But she is waiting for the justice as her perpetrators are still roaming guiltless.
In a horrific incident, Sonali Mukherjee’s face was intentionally disfigured forever on 22 April in 2003, with acid attack when she was just 17 years old, by intruders who broke into her home in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India. The goons, who had allegedly been sexually abusing her for years, poured the acid over her while she was sleeping.
The incident made her blind and dumb. She became blind in both eyes and deaf in one ear. Even she had to completely loss her right ear as the reaction of the acid. Now she went post to pillar in search of help/charity from public to private port folio holders and organizations, but in return got nothing but just assurances.
After the incident her family along with Sonali, were forced to abandon their home in Dhanbad and her mother slipped into depression.
To meet the huge expense for her medical treatment involving 22 surgeries and several consultations, her family was forced to sell their ancestral land, her mother’s jewellery and everything they had to sell and now is practically cleaned out. But this sacrifice merely helped her to get a slightly improved face.
Getting no financial assistance from either the state or any agency, the distressed Mukherjee finally asked the government to allow her euthanasia if it could not help her.
She was a NCC cadet before the incident and avers that it was NCC, which had given her the courage to fight all odds till now, but now she has gone out of patience.
Approximately 15 lakh rupees will be needed to provide Mukherjee a face to look even remotely human and have her eyesight restored as per her estimation.
She approached three chief ministers, Shibu Soren, Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda and three MLAs, but did not get any monetary help. Then after a lot of struggle, plastic surgeon Anant Sinha wanted to come to her help, who assured her of free surgery and even a job in his hospital.
Out of the three attackers, Tapas Mitra and Sanjay Paswan were released on bail six years ago and enjoying their lives now. The third accused Brahmadev Hajra was let off as he was a juvenile at the time of crime. But Sonali Mukherjee’s family members are still living with fear.
If you want to give any financial help to Sonali, please send the funds to his father’s account below:
Chandi Das Mukherjee, A/C – 0612000103217964, Punjab National Bank, Nauroji Nagar Branch, IFSC Code: PUNB0061200, New Delhi.
Sonali can be contacted through her brother Devashish Mukherjee @ 09437638600.