Indian acid attack victim Sonali Mukherjee goes on TV game show
Woman who asked to die if she wasn't given help wins money on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
A few months ago, Sonali Mukherjee, horrifically disfigured in an acid attack when she was 17, wanted to end her suffering.
Over nine years, she went through 22 operations to repair the injuries inflicted by the three men who broke into her home at night and poured acid over her face as she slept.
The acid melted away her eyelids, nose, mouth and ears, leaving her blind and partially deaf. Her "offence" was to have spurned their advances. They spent just three years in jail.
Unable to continue what she called "half a life with half a face", she begged the government in July either to help her with money for more medical treatment or to let doctors kill her. Euthanasia is illegal in India.
Money cannot give Mukherjee back her face and her life.
But it can help, which is why she appeared on the Indian version of the quiz show at the weekend, hosted by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan.
The producers invited Mukherjee, 26, on the show after an outpouring of support that followed media coverage of her plea for euthanasia. On the show, where an emotional Bachchan escorted her to her chair, Mukherjee answered questions confidently, her face wrapped in a red scarf and wearing sunglasses.
