Gulnaj was only 18 years old when she was brutally attacked with acid. During her school vacations, she often visited her grandmother. A man in her grandmother’s town, Moradabad, Farhan alias Ashu, had his eye on Gulnaj. Unbothered by it, she came back home to Uttarakhand. Her school had reopened. One day, on her way to school, she noticed something unusual. Ashu was waiting for her. He stopped her midway on the pretext of initiating a conversation. Gulnaj refused. And so began his incessant stalking. She complained about this harassment to her mother. Her mother decided to confront Ashu. Clever that he was, he never appeared in front of Gulnaj’s mother. Gulnaj decided to confront him herself. She asked him to stop harassing her and warned him that she would file a police complaint against him. Hearing this, Ashu left her alone for a couple of months. She felt relieved that he had learned his lesson. However, she did not know the cruelty that lay in her future. One unfortunate day, on her way back home from school, she noticed Ashu standing near her residence. Holding a 5-litre can and a mug in another hand, It seemed like he was waiting for her. The fumes coming out of them were clear from afar. Terrified, she ran in the opposite direction. But he had caught on. Before she could realize it, Ashu had hurled the fuming acid on her face. Gulnaj started screaming and crying. The pain was unbearable. She felt her skin melting off. His savagery did not end here. He pushed her on the road and pulled out a knife from his pocket. He slashed her neck, cutting across her throat and her three fingers. In an attempt to save herself, she pushed him away and ran towards her home. The acid burns continued to burst out fumes. It got into her eyes too. She was unable to see anything. She managed to collect herself and walked home. Falling apart, she stumbled and fell into a gutter. Despite this, Ashu sat on her and poured the acid from the mug on her face. What makes this worse is that the attack happened in broad daylight. In her neighborhood. A neighborhood where she resided for years. People gathered and watched the horrifying brutal attack unfold upon her. Not one came to her rescue. She begged and pleaded for help. Ashu continued to attack her with acid. Finally, a messiah passed by. He freed Gulnaj from Ashu’s brutality and took her home. Gulnaj knocked on her door. Her mother opened, took one look at Gulnaj, and could not stand it. She fainted. Her family members rushed them both to the hospital. However, no hospital in town was equipped to handle Gulnaj’s case. She was immediately transferred to a hospital in another city. She has spent almost 35 lakhs on her treatment and surgeries. To date, she has undergone 27 surgeries. Her accused was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. His motive was to torment and kill her brutally. She has graduated with immense pain and struggle and earned a position at Bank of America. The Uttarakhand government provided the initial compensation of 3 lakhs. She has finally received an enhanced compensation of 35 lakhs, which is solely the amount spent on her treatment. This is an unusually big win in cases of acid attack.