The acid attack survivors were denied admission in hospitals till an NGO intervened
The night of May 28 became dreadful for Nisar Ahmed when his son-in-law allegedly attacked his entire family with acid when they were sleeping at their home in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. In the attack, seven people - including his wife, four daughters and an infant - sustained injuries.
"He used to trouble my daughter. We have filed a complaint with the police but nothing happened. Then he attacked us with acid," said Mr Ahmed.
When his daughters' condition began to deteriorate in Meerut, they were referred to Delhi but hospitals in the capital allegedly refused to admit them and gave various excuses.
"Some said there are no beds, some said the beds aren't empty... we haven't even eaten since morning" Mr Ahmed added.
It was only after an intervention from an NGO named 'Make Love Not Scar' that three of his daughter could be admitted to two different hospitals.
"I requested them to admit the patients because they had been standing outside for seven to eight hours... They have admitted them now with certain terms and conditions," said Harshad Malik from the NGO.
Just two months ago, the Supreme Court had ordered private hospitals to bear the entire cost of medical treatment of acid attack survivors, including costly plastic and corrective surgeries. But it seems that private hospitals are ignoring these orders. In the same order, the top court had also directed states to implement stringent norms for retail sale of acid but cases like these are pointing towards the laxity of governments.