‘Sori attacked with tribal tattoo ink’

Aam Admi Party leader and tribal activist Soni Sori who has been admitted in a private hospital in Delhi following the February 20 attack on her by unidentified assailants in Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar district of Dantewada, might have been hit with a tree extract used in making tattoo on bodies by adivasis, experts felt. Even as the substance with which Ms Sori’s face was blackened by three motorcycle-borne assailants near Bastanar Ghat in Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar of Dantewada district in the middle of night while she was travelling with one of her associates, was yet to be identified, doctors in Chhattisgarh believed that it might be marking nut resin used in making tattoos or painting on skin by tribals. The oily substance causes allergic reactions on the skin when it comes in contact with water, experts said.

State Health Resource Centre (SHRC) director Dr Partha Chatterjee told reporters here that after watching pictures of Sori’s blackened face and going through her medical bulletin released by AAP, he reached the conclusion that the substance used on her face was nut resin oil.

“I have worked in tribal health field for more than two decades. I can safely say that the substance thrown at Sori’s face in all probability was marking nut resin which is abundantly available in Chhattisgarh.

“Ms Sori’s face was clear initially after she was attacked with the substance, it grew darker gradually. Marking nut resin gets chemically bonded to skin and cause change in skin cells even when it was washed with water or soap”, a doctor said.

He suggested doctors in Delhi’s Appolo hospital to treat her face with antidotes recommended in ayurveda such as coconut oil, ghee, coriander leave pulps or butter.