HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad metropolitan court’s letter, directing the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to provide at least `3 lakh compensation to gang-rape and acid attack victim Sonia Shaik, has been forwarded to the district collector for a decision.
Only days after the letter was written on June 9 did it become clear to Sonia, a transgender woman, that to receive the compensation, acid attack victims like her are entitled to, she would have to make a number of visits to the DLSA office at LB Nagar for a few weeks.
In May 2015, Sonia was gang-raped and attacked with acid, and she suffered 54 per cent burns on her face. The very same year, the Supreme Court directed state governments to include the victims of acid attack under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act.
The court directed the states to provide the victims with free surgery and treatment, and to revise the compensation from `3 lakh to `10 lakh.