Potassium-sugar burns: Online fraud is costing teenage girls their hands

For the past six months, Rehnuma has repeatedly seen a particular type of case. While chemical burns are not new to her, the cases she has been encountering recently are markedly different.

Although these are chemical burns, they share specific characteristics: the affected area is small and localised, but the injuries are unusually deep. Around 95% of the patients are female, most aged between 15 and 30.

Similar cases in burn wards

Concerned by the trend, Rehnuma discussed the cases with colleagues and senior physicians, including Dr Mohammad Shariful Islam. Dr Sharif, an associate professor at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, says he has been seeing such cases for about a year. While numbers were higher six months ago, he still treats three to four patients monthly. Hospitals in Khulna, Chattogram and Rajshahi report similar cases. Potassium chlorate mixed with sugar can create a highly combustible reaction capable of causing severe burns or explosions.

Inconsistent accounts from patients

Victims from different regions present identical injuries on the palm of the hand. Many arrive with relatives who are unaware of how the injury occurred. Common explanations include household accidents such as boiling water or hot food spills.

However, Dr Sharif says, "We can identify the nature of the burn immediately just by looking at it. Ordinary burns from hot water or household accidents usually cause blisters. Deep burns do not. In these cases, the injury is localised and extremely deep. We understand straight away that something is being concealed."

Further questioning of patients, often conducted privately, eventually revealed a consistent pattern. 

How victims were drawn in 

Rukhsana Akhtar, 28, from Cumilla, faced a breakdown in her life after a divorce two years ago, losing custody of her elder daughter and struggling to raise her younger child alone. After a prolonged custody dispute involving relatives, neighbours, courts and mediation, she was unable to regain her elder daughter. 

She later moved in with her mother and became increasingly isolated, developing depression and insomnia. In this condition, she contacted a Facebook-based 'Hujur' she had found online, considering him a last option.

He assured her that the issue could be resolved quickly and instructed her to purchase potassium permanganate, locally referred to as potash, from a pharmacy. 

She was also told to mix it with sugar during a night-time "ritual" conducted over video call. At 2:30am, she followed instructions while keeping the camera pointed only at her hand. She was told to tightly clench the mixture in her palm. Within moments, her hand began to burn severely. Rukhsana was threatened not to release it, with claims that harm could come to her family if she did.

She eventually had to let go as the pain became unbearable. Shortly after, she was told to pay money, with threats that the injury would worsen otherwise. 

Alongside injuries, patients also bear significant financial losses.

Ashamed, Ruskhsana did not initially inform her family. By morning, her palm had swollen significantly and she was taken to hospital.

Ishrat Jahan, 38, from Motijheel in Dhaka, also contacted a Facebook-based "Hujur" for marital issues. After initial religious instructions, she was told that further steps required sweets, potassium and Tk1,200 via bKash, along with a claim that a jinn would complete the process at 2:00am. She later mixed potassium with syrup as instructed and experienced sudden burning and a popping sound. She briefly lost consciousness. On waking, she was told to send additional money for further rituals and discouraged from seeking medical treatment. She later realised she had been deceived.

In another case, Sraboni Majumder suffered severe burns after following similar instructions from an online 'kobiraj-tantrik' while alone at home. She had developed an attachment to a man abroad and was attempting to follow guidance she received online. She mixed potassium and sugar, resulting in immediate chemical burns to her hand and chest.

While Sraboni was not subjected to financial demands, others reported paying varying amounts, sometimes under pressure during moments of pain or distress. Victims described demands ranging from Tk10,000 to Tk100,000, or the equivalent value in goods. Some continued payments in installments, while others later sought medical treatment.

Doctors treating such patients said they had seen cases involving significant financial loss alongside injuries. They noted that perpetrators often change contact numbers after exposure, making them difficult to trace.

The hands are never the same again

Human skin is relatively thick. Beneath it lies a layer of fat, followed by muscle tissue containing blood vessels, and finally bone.

The skin itself consists primarily of two layers: the epidermis and the dermis. Burns affecting only the epidermis are known as superficial burns. When the dermis is damaged, the injury becomes a deep burn.

Deep burns are classified by degree. In a third-degree burn, both skin layers are completely destroyed, affecting underlying muscles, blood vessels and nerves. If the damage extends all the way to the bone, it becomes a fourth-degree burn.

In the potassium-sugar incidents, injuries typically reach the second or third degree, though some progress to the fourth degree.

Chemical injury is localised and extremely deep.

"When a burn destroys blood vessels and reaches the bone, the tissue becomes non-functional. It dies. This happens to people who hold the potassium mixture for too long. The chemical reaction generates intense heat, causing deep burns within 30 to 60 seconds. In severe cases, amputation becomes necessary," explained Dr Sharif.

He added, "These incidents are usually carried out in secret. Since young women are the primary targets, many continue sending money out of ignorance or fear. Some do not even tell their families about the injury until the pain becomes unbearable."

Most patients initially seek treatment at district hospitals before being referred to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, although some arrive directly.

Upon admission, the wound is dressed and monitored closely. In deep burns, blood vessels may initially appear intact, but within a day or two the blood inside them can clot.

If the injury is fourth-degree or the blood vessels have been completely destroyed, amputation may be unavoidable.

For severe deep burns, surgeons often perform an abdominal flap procedure. In this specialised plastic surgery technique, the injured hand is attached to a section of the patient's abdomen, allowing healthy tissue with an intact blood supply to cover the damaged area.

The hand remains attached to the abdomen for approximately 21 days. Once the new tissue has healed, a second operation is performed to separate the hand and fingers. Further dressings follow.

The entire process can take between three and six months, followed by one or two months of physiotherapy.

Yet even after all this, the hand never truly returns to normal. At best, it is restored to a functional condition.

Targeting young women online 

Operating under the guise of Hujurs and Tantriks, individuals posing as spiritual healers continue to run such schemes through Facebook pages and online advertisements. Their promotions also appear on YouTube alongside films and drama content.

The Business Standard (TBS) spoke to Rukhsana, Ishrat, Sraboni, Tania and several other victims, collecting phone numbers linked to these pages and self-proclaimed clerics.

When TBS contacted the numbers for verification, most were switched off. Only one number remained active, belonging to a man identifying himself as "Alam Hujur".

Using a fabricated scenario, a TBS reporter called him. He quickly assured that problems could be resolved through spiritual means and without delay.

Q: Assalamu Alaikum. Is this the number of Alam Hujur?
Alam Hujur: Yes, mother, tell me, what is your problem?

Q: Can all problems be solved here?
Alam Hujur: Yes, mother. All problems can be solved except bringing the dead back to life. From your voice, I understand you want to bring a lover or husband closer. Are you married?

Q: No, I like someone.
Alam Hujur: I understand. But he does not want you, right?

Q: Yes.
Alam Hujur: No problem. Wanting to build a home and get married is a noble wish. Insha'Allah, it will happen. It will take only one day to solve your problem. You only need to complete a few tasks. Do not be afraid.

Q: What tasks? Do I have to pay a lot of money?
Alam Hujur: Money is not required initially. First, you watch the work happen, mother. After that, if you believe, you can pay. 

You only need to buy thirteen candles and three roses. You will stay on a video call through IMO or WhatsApp and see everything with your own eyes.

You will have to provide your name, a copy of your photograph, and the boy's name. After the work is done, you will send money equivalent to one maund of sweets to please the jinn, and offer prayers for me.

Q: But that is a lot of money.
Alam Hujur: No problem, mother. Give whatever you can. It is only to please the jinn.

Q: I do not even have a smartphone. Will my problem still be solved?
Alam Hujur: Without a smartphone, it becomes difficult. If you cannot see it with your own eyes, you will not have proof. You will not understand that we truly solve problems.

Q: Is there any other way to solve my problem?
Alam Hujur: Then we must do something else, mother. You can do this instead. Buy six packets of potassium and one packet of white sweets. It will not cost much. Buy them and call me. I will explain everything over the phone. In the meantime, pray five times a day. Do not miss your prayers.

Q: Alright. I will call you.
Alam Hujur: Good. Buy what I have told you and call me. I will solve all your problems in one day, Insha'Allah. But be careful—until the work is completed, do not tell anyone, not even your parents. That will cause harm instead of benefit. Keep your trust.
 

They begin by earning their victims' trust. Slowly, they steer them toward their true objective. Some people are lured with promises of winning back a husband or lover, others with hopes of fairer skin, financial gain, or a quick solution to deeply personal problems. In pursuit of these promises, many end up burning their own hands with mixtures of potassium and sugar, believing it is part of a remedy or ritual.

Those who realize the deception early often seek medical treatment before the damage becomes severe. But many others, convinced that relief is just around the corner, continue to hand over money even after suffering injuries. What starts as a promise of an easy fix soon turns into a cycle of exploitation. By selling shortcuts to life's challenges, a group of opportunists is not only extracting money from vulnerable people but also leaving them with lasting physical harm.