While acid attack survivor Reshma Qureshi took the fashion world by storm when she walked the ramp in New York this week, back in India, a special court sentenced Preeti Rathi's attacker with the death penalty, reigniting the issue of such rampant incidents in the country. Reshma and Rangoli Chandel (Kangana Ranaut's sister), who is also a survivor, share their stories...
Madhureeta Mukherjee and Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; September 11, 2016)

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut's sister, Rangoli faced a brutal acid attack in 2006. She fought back after almost losing an eye and ear, but she still hasn't forgotten the trauma. Today, she's come into her own and works closely with her star sister. But her battle for survival has been horrific. However, she had a great support system in Kangana, her mom and Ajay Chandel, the man who stood by her. Rangoli hails the death penalty, which was announced recently for Ankur Panwar in the Preeti Rathi acid attack case, as a positive development, but doubts if things will change till there are serious checks on the storage and availability of acid.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST THOSE WHO STORE ACID
Rangoli still remembers the trauma of the days and months after the attack. “I almost lost one eye; my windpipe and food pipe were shrinking. I don't remember how many surgeries I went through. Whenever my mother saw me, she would faint. My father couldn't bear to look at me and took to drinking. It's not just the survivor who suffers, but the entire family. I was engaged to an Air Force officer, but once he saw me at the hospital, he never came back. For the first couple of months, I couldn't see myself in the mirror. I'm lucky to have a sister like Kangana, who got me the best treatment possible then,“ she remembers.

This is why she hails the verdict in the Preeti Rathi case as landmark. “With due respect to the honourable judge, this (the death penalty) is the correct verdict. Whoever commits this crime should get the same punishment. No bail, no life term, as they will get out after a few years. But then, acid is still available in the market. The authorities should crack down on people who store and sell it,“ she stresses.

MY SUPPORT SYSTEM HELPED ME SURVIVE
Through that difficult phase, Rangoli found support from the man she married. “My husband, Ajay, whom I knew from my school days, met me after I came out of the hospital. He didn't make me feel different. That also helped me regain confidence. Yoga and meditation helped considerably. Thankfully, my doctor was supportive too, as were Kangana and my mom. My support system helped me survive. Usually, girls get paranoid about just a pimple. For me, this was more than just mental trauma and the pain. You feel numb, you don't know your future,“ she recalls.

It's known that Kangana too was threatened by the attacker and had to seek police security. “This was at a time when she was not a big star. Yet, she diverted her focus to me and my recovery. She spent her earnings on my treatment. The man who attacked me got a seven-year sentence. We were struggling with our lives; we didn't know kya hoga, kaise hoga... But you have to come out of it. You can't be in that mourning zone forever,“ says Rangoli.