Acid-attack woman finds love
After ten years of agony, acid attack victim Rani has found love, happiness and a reason to live again
SHE thought her horrific injuries and years of agony and anguish meant she’d never find love. But the young acid attack victim did, and in the unlikeliest of places – from her hospital bed. Pramodini Roul was just 15 years old when a paramilitary soldier threw acid in her face, which melted it away and blinded her, all because she’d rejected his marriage proposal.
The now 25-year-old survivor, who’s called Rani – which means queen – by her loved ones, was a Grade 10 schoolgirl at the time. She was returning from taking an exam with her cousin when Santosh Kumar Bedant (then 28) doused her with the corrosive chemical.
Rani spent four months in an intensive care unit (ICU) after the incident and was bedridden for four years at her home in Odisha in eastern India, where her widowed mother took care of her.
After being in pain for almost a decade, undergoing five reconstructive surgeries – including one to restore partial vision in her left eye – and reeling from depression, Rani has finally found a reason to live again: her boyfriend, Saroj Kumar Sahoo (26).
The pair met while Rani was in hospital and they’ve been living together for a year in New Delhi. They’re now planning to get married.
“Saroj really treats me like a queen,” Rani says.
“He loves me the way I am. He’s become a part of me. I wouldn’t have been able to face the world today if I didn’t have him in my life.”
RANI and Saroj met in March 2014 at a private hospital where she was admitted for treatment of an infection ravaging her legs. Skin from her legs had been used for grafts to her face but her half-healed wounds had begun secreting pus. The prognosis was dire: doctors believed it would take Rani at least four years before she could hope to walk again.
But it was shortly after receiving this heartrending news that a light walked into Rani’s life – Saroj. He was a friend of the nurse who was caring for Rani and was visiting when he saw Rani’s mother crying helplessly and he comforted her.
“He assured her he’d do everything possible to get me walking,” Rani says.
Saroj started visiting Rani every day to boost her morale and became so invested in her he quit his job to devote himself to taking care of her.
“From 8 to 12 in the morning and 4 to 8 in the evening, he was there with me. It had become a routine,” Rani says. “He was extremely caring and looked after my needs. He’d talk to me for hours and motivate me.
“I’d already lost my eyesight and the thought of being bedridden was an
added woe. But Saroj didn’t lose hope.
“Just as medication was required for the physical recovery, I needed support and encouragement at the mental level.”
Slowly, the wounds on Rani’s legs started healing. “With treatment and exercise and with his help and support I regained my confidence. And now I’m standing, back on my feet and able to walk again.”
Rani’s blindness meant she couldn’t see her Good Samaritan until she had her eye surgery but sight didn’t matter – she’d fallen head over heels for her kind, caring companion. As their friendship deepened, the two expressed their feelings for each other but Rani was initially sceptical of being in a relationship as she felt she wasn’t ready for it.
“Then, on 14 January 2016, he wept and expressed his feelings for me.
“I too had fallen for him, loved him, but I didn’t tell him that. I thought, ‘I’m not even fit enough to look after myself – how can I hope to keep others happy?’
“But he kept encouraging me and telling me not to think too much. He assured me a day would come when I feel ready to make others happy.”
While Rani and Saroj’s relationship has been accepted by their families, the two are waiting for Rani to get further reconstructive surgeries before they take the plunge and get married.
Rani’s neck has started bending as the skin on her back had melted in the attack and now has no elasticity. She also needs further operations on her eyes as she’s only able to see a little, and needs reconstructive surgery on her head as a large portion of skin is missing.
Only after her eye surgery was Rani able to look at herself in the mirror and see the full horror of the damage.
“I did have some idea of what had been
Tdone to me but when I saw myself I felt extremely hurt. I was so scared of myself I cried the whole night.
“I’m hoping to get further surgery as soon as possible. Doctors say I need at least four more surgeries.” HE young woman now works with the Chhanv Foundation, a support organisation for acid attack survivors that helps arrange funds for surgery and rehabilitation. “I’m happy that I’m able to restart my life again but it would be wonderful if I could get all my operations soon.
“My mother couldn’t arrange money for my treatment and we had to stop it midway. The delay has caused several complications that need to be addressed soon.
“I also want to do something in life and then settle down with Saroj.”
As in most acid attack cases in India, Bedant was let off, allegedly because the police were bribed. He even offered to marry Rani after the attack, she says.
Her perpetrator is a married man with a young son but Rani she still hopes to see him behind bars one day.
“The police came to record my statement after the attack,” she recalls.
“But they didn’t seem to take the case seriously. They didn’t even arrest my attacker despite me detailing his identity.
“In fact to our surprise, they lied and denied the very existence of any such person with that name.
“I filed a case against [Bedant] and received a summons from the court asking for the submission of evidence.
“But because I was bedridden nothing much could be done. My younger cousin was an eyewitness but there was no one to take him to the court.” The case was eventually dismissed. Despite all the hardship and horror, Rani is ready to embrace life with her saviour by her side.
“I’m ready to be happy again,” she says. “And I finally feel ready to make him happy too.”
‘He kept encouraging me and telling me not to think too much’