A young woman’s true tale of fighting a demon and winning against all odds

On Feb 21, 2021

#WorldDayofSocialJusticeDay

It is World Day of Social Justice today and again the time to make our resolve, of becoming pillars of a social and just society, even stronger.

On this occasion, social media user Promodini Roul, shared a story of a woman, who had once became a victim of acid attack and recollected her courage after 7 years to collect evidence and ensure judicial punishment to the culprit.

Here is the complete post:

“This was a 7-year-old incident; we had no evidence against Santosh. So, I started collecting it myself. I knew his name and I knew his friends. I took his friends in confidence, under the pretext of just wanting to know why he did what he did. It took some time to break through, but when I did, they were apologetic and condemned their friend’s actions.

Secretly, I taped their calls; I needed evidence. I learnt that after committing that monstrous act, he was happily living in an army quarter with his wife and son. Even the thought of him going through life as if he’d done no wrong angered me.

So, when I realised I had enough evidence, I started contacting the media and brought my case up again. People tweeted to the CM, who agreed to meet me and facilitated the re-opening of my case. Santosh, my attacker, was in Kashmir back then. On hearing of his impending arrest, he tried to abscond, but was caught in Bengal.

After nearly 10 years, life brought us face to face again. I was called to identify him. My cousin, Saroj and I went in together. There were 22 men standing there, but I didn’t even take a second to recognise him. And when I stood in front of him, he smiled! Oh, the audacity! That day, he was put in jail. Finally, he wasn’t a free man after ruining my life in a matter of seconds.

But he hasn’t been proved guilty yet. It’s been 11 years now. There were multiple judge changes and with each change, I had to go through the trauma of narrating my story all over again. The verdict was to be announced last year, but the lockdown happened. But I’m certain, this time, I will get justice.

Before pouring acid down my head, he’d said, ‘Agar meri nahi hui toh kisi ki nahi hogi.’ That wasn’t love. He just wanted to possess me. I know this now. I know what ‘love’ truly means, now that I have Saroj by my side; we’re getting married on 1st March.

It’s strange that it took 2 men to change the course of my life. One, a man in a uniform who took an oath of ‘service before self’, who couldn’t comprehend a simple ‘NO’ from a girl. And another, a simpleton who saw a girl in her most vulnerable state, became her biggest support and pushed her to be the best version of herself. But most importantly, who waited for her to be ready.

I’ve accepted the fact that I’m not that 17-year-old Rani anymore–the one with curly hair and flawless skin. But instead I’m this 29-year-old woman who’s confident, independent and knows her worth. And as for the scars, love is fading them away.”