No acid can burn this survivor’s spirit Premium

The new job at secretariat is a ray of hope, but life has changed for the survivor from Sunkadkatte in Bengaluru after a stalker poured acid on her last year

“Hope…” Prema says the word and pauses a second to think about it. “I want to take care of my health first. Once I’m fit, I can take care of my family. Then slowly I will plan further. And whatever it is, I will succeed,” she says.

An acid attack survivor, the 25-year-old was offered a job by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his office. On July 3, she started working in the secretariat. The nature of her job is yet to be confirmed. But Prema is thrilled and has keenly taken up Kannada typing classes.

“I’m very happy about it. It feels like the first step in life. I want to start everything over; I want to start a new life. Now I can do that,” she sounds elated.

Life has changed drastically for Prema since April last year when the accused, Nagesh Babu, who had been stalking her since 2015, poured acid all over her.

She has undergone 30 surgeries since then; seven are yet to be performed. She needs help to move around, even to eat. Her brother, Vishwas, who was a second PUC student when the incident happened dropped out to take care of his sister.

She hopes the new job would be a new beginning.

It was in 2015 that Nagesh Babu, then a tenant at her aunt’s house, approached Prema with requests to marry him. She was a B.Com student then. As she turned him down and informed her family, Nagesh vacated her aunt’s house. But he didn’t stop making attempts to meet her at her college.