Delhi riots: Blinded in acid attack, victim awaits key surgery postponed due to pandemic

New delhi: A month after the north-east Delhi riots, 52-year-old Mohammed Waqeel walked out of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital here but while all his limbs were intact, he could not see anymore. Both his eyes were severely damaged in an acid attack during the riots, rendering him effectively blind. Doctors at the time had said surgery could restore some of his sight.

Eleven months later, Waqeel still awaits his surgery, sitting in his one-bedroom home in Shiv Vihar, a neighbourhood he has lived in since the time he arrived in Delhi over 30 years ago.

A father to four children, Waqeel said he was in the hospital for a month after the attack on him.

"On February 25, 2020, when Shiv Vihar was under attack, I along with my family was hiding on the terrace of my house as there was intense stone pelting going on. At 9 pm, I got up to peek downstairs when I suddenly felt something hot splash on my face. The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor with my head in my hands. I had initially thought that I was attacked by a brick, but could not move," he said.

The next morning Waqeel's daughter found him on the terrace and alerted the family. However, she was also splashed in the eyesm cheeks and neck with acid.

Waqeels's 20-year-old daughter is now stable but has some marks on her neck. "Her operation was successful, unlike mine," Waqeel added.

"My children and I somehow managed to reach Chaman Park on February 26 after I was woken up by my daughter, following which I along with other injured was taken to the hospital where I stayed for almost a month," he added, saying that since then hospitals have refused to do any surgery on him. He said two government hospitals had refused to operate upon him citing the pandemic.

Waqeel's house and shop were also burnt by rioters and is still being renovated to be reopened for business. "We have had no mode of income since the riots and the pandemic hit. My elder son was working in a private company, but we requested him to stay with us and not go anywhere," he added.

The riots had brought havoc on the family with Waqeel losing all eyesight. "An NGO came to know about my case and took me to a hospital in Daryaganj but they asked me to come after six months for the operation," he said, adding that the hospital had also not given him a date for the operation.

"My only request to the hospital is to operate on me so that I can see a little bit and move on with my life. It has been almost a year and I do not know how much more I have to wait," Waqeel said.

He said the acid was so bad that the stairs of his house had turned white due to it. His family is waiting for Waqeel to get a little better. "These riots have taken away everything from me. I have lived in Delhi for more than 30 years and since the beginning, I have been living at Shiv Vihar, but never in my dreams had I expected something like this," he said.

Waqeel has received Rs 2,80,000 as compensation money from the Delhi government for the injury to him and the damage done to his house and shop. And even though an FIR has been filed, Waqeel said the details in it do not match his version and that he does not have much hope from the police. "The only justice I want is my eyes," he added.