Lucknow: One month after a rape victim from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district was set ablaze by her alleged rapists, a rape victim committed suicide in Barabani district of the state as the accused were pressuring her to take back the complaint.
The mother of the 21-year old has alleged that the accused were pressuring her daughter to take back her case.
The woman, who was a law student and stayed at her aunt’s place for studies, was found hanging from the ceiling inside her room on Monday. An application was given at Jahangirabad police station by the family members and the body was sent for post mortem on Tuesday. Superintendent of police Barabanki said the rape case was registered as a counter case on the accused as they had earlier filed a case under section 420 against the deceased and her mother.
However, father of the deceased woman gave a written application in which he stated the incident as suicide and said no one was responsible for her death.
The deceased was doing her internship under lawyer Harish Kumar Mishra at the Barabanki Civil Court. Speaking to media about the issue, Mishra said, “The victim was going to her native place in Tikaitnagar on September 2, 2019 when two accused, Shiv Kumar (Lekhpal) and Shiv Paltan, offered her a lift in their vehicle. They promised to drop her near her destination but later turned the vehicle in the wrong direction. They then took the victim to a secluded place and took turns to rape her on gunpoint. She informed her family and others about the incident and an application was given at the police station and senior police officials.”
Mishra said the police did not act on the complaint, prompting the girl to seek justice in the court.
“She sought justice from the court and a case was registered subsequently. A case of section 406 was registered against the victim by the accused Shiv Kumar and Shiv Paltan to put the victim under pressure. The accused were pressuring her to withdraw the complaint, due to which she was in depression. No action was taken against the culprits by the police. One of the accused, who is a lekhpal (clerk) by profession, has been pressurising me as well,” Mishra said.
Citing the deceased’s father’s letter wherein he stated the death to be a case of suicide and nothing more, Akash Tomar, SP Barabanki, said, “The girl who was living with her aunt in Jaghangirabad was found dead on January 6, after which police and administration official had rushed to the spot. Her father had given a written application saying it was a case of suicide and that he doesn’t suspect anyone of her death, after which the body was sent for the post mortem.”
Tomar said about 24 hours later, an application was filed by the mother of the deceased in which she mentioned the rape case and said the accused were pressuring her daughter.
“We then tried to gather more information about the case and learnt that there are two people who had filed a case of 420 (cheating) against the deceased and her mother. Exactly after one month of that case, a cross case under section 376 was filed against the two people who had earlier accused the deceased and her mother of cheating. During the medical examination, no injury was found which suggested a sexual assault and the call details proved that the accused were not present on the crime spot as per the allegations of the girl. Even after a final report in the case, objection was raised and once again evidence collection is in process,” he added.
“It seems that the case of 376 was a cross case and no proofs could be found during the investigation, including call details and medical evidences. Even when the girl committed suicide, her father did not accuse anyone. Later an application was filed by the deceased’s mother at the behest of some people from legal background. In the application she accused people of pressuring her daughter to take the grave step. It was also learnt that the deceased was facing some family issue because of which she was staying at her aunt’s place. However, we have asked SP North to investigate the case further,” said Tomar.