While many acid attack victims prefer to stay away from society’s censuring eyes, a spirit of sheer determination and positivity has brought Sonali Mukherjee out into the spotlight, and has established in her persona an example for every survivor of
Several close family members and friends were present to bless the couple.
Anu Ranjan helped Sonali arrange funds close to 25 lakhs towards her treatment through her NGO BETI.
In 2012, she appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati and won 2.5 million rupees along with her celebrity partner, Bollywood actress Lara Dutta.
Chittaranjan was moved by Sonali’s courage and spirit to fight back and contacted her on Facebook. The two instantly clicked and fell in love, after which they decided to tie the knot.
Distraught by the suffering, she had even begged the government to allow euthanasia, a request that was turned down. The men who were accused were left on bail.
The acid disfigured her face and left her partially deaf and blind. Her father was forced to sell his land, cattle and jewellery for over 22 surgeries that she underwent.
On April 22, the men poured acid over her face while she was sleeping in her home in Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
Mukherjee was a 17-year-old college student, when in 2003, three men attacked her because she had rejected their sexual advances.
Barring all odds, Sonali tied the knot with an electrical engineer, Chittaranjan Tiwari, 13 years after she was subjected to the torture. Anu Ranjan's BETI Foundation hosted the reception at J W Marriott, Mumbai.
Beyond the acid: Sonali-Chittaranjan's happily ever after story