Sonali Mukherjee is a woman from

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...

, India, whose face was permanently disfigured by an

acid attack An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tortu ...

in 2003 when she was 18. Her family has spent all their savings on her treatment.

Early life

Mukherjee was born in

. She was a

National Cadet Corps National Cadet Corps may refer to: *Bangladesh National Cadet Corps *National Cadet Corps (Ghana) *National Cadet Corps (India) *National Cadet Corps (Pakistan) *National Cadet Corps (Singapore) *National Cadet Corps (Sri Lanka) The National ...

cadet, which she had to quit after her attack.

Incident

In 2003, almost one and half months prior to the incident, three alleged assailants - Tapas Mitra, and his two friends Sanjay Paswan and Bhrahmadev Hajra - told her that she was a ''Ghamandi'' (arrogant) person, and they would teach her a lesson. Her father later complained to the families of the three men. On 22 April, when she was asleep on the roof of her house, she was attacked with acid and left with a burnt face and other severe injuries. Her sister was also injured in the incident.

Aftermath

The perpetrators were sentenced to nine years in jail, but were granted bail when they appealed to the High Court. Mukherjee's family approached the court and various other authorities for justice, including the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, multiple MPs, but she received "aashwasan (assurances) ... nothing else". Chandidas Mukherjee, Sonali's father, later stated in an interview: "We appealed in the high court... Nothing happened. They were sent to jail, but were released soon after. Now, they are busy enjoying their lives. The law against acid attackers needs to be made tougher. Otherwise, we will have many more Sonalis". In Feb. 2014, State Govt. of Jharkhand appointed Sonali Mukherjee as Grade III clerk in the welfare department of the Bokaro deputy commissioner's office.

Appearance in Kaun Banega Crorepati

Mukherjee drew global attention when she appealed for euthanasia. Her wish to meet

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

on the sets of ''

Kaun Banega Crorepati ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (also simply known as ''KBC'') is an Indian Hindi-language television game show. It is the official Hindi adaptation of the ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' franchise. It has been presented by actor Amitabh Bachchan ...

'', season 6 was granted in 2012. Accompanied by

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the r ...

in the game, they won .Sonali Mukherjee – acid attack victim who became a TV millionaire – Hindustan Times

References

External links

Sonali Mukherjee's Petition for Justice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Sonali Violence against women in India Women's rights in Asia Acid attack victims Chemical weapons attacks People from Dhanbad Living people Year of birth missing (living people)