BHUBANESWAR: A 39-year-old woman’s fight has landed her in police custody - and her 62-year-old mother in jail - for allegedly refusing reconciliation with the perpetrator who raped her five-year-old daughter in 2016.
This happened in Narandeipur village under Banpur police limits on Wednesday. The rape survivor’s mother was assaulted along with her mother by a few villagers, including three women. When she lodged a complaint, the opposite side too filed a countercase. The mother-grandmother duo of the survivor was arrested too.
The 39-year-old is recovering at Capital Hospital here while her mother is in jail. The woman says she was targeted for not withdrawing the case against the prime accused and reporting the matter to Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC). The woman’s husband is partially blind and they have three children. The family hails from Kumarangasasan village under Banpur police limits. The rape survivor is 10 now.
When she was five, the minor girl was raped by a man in front of her grandmother’s house in Narandeipur village on November 12, 2016. After her mother lodged a complaint, the family faced a social boycott and the ordeal began.
“The panchayat members advised the accused to pay me money to settle the heinous crime committed against my daughter. I refused and decided to take the legal route. After much persuasion, police registered a case and arrested the prime accused on November 28, 2016. But, ever since his release on bail, he and his supporters have been threatening and harassing us,” the mother told The New Indian Express.
According to her, supporters of the prime accused were abused and assaulted in the past but police let them off by serving notices under section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Now, she is afraid of returning to her village.
“The doctors said they will discharge me soon. However, I and my family members will not return to the village and instead take shelter in a temple or an ashram as goons have threatened us with dire consequences,” she said.
Social activist and general secretary of the Centre for Youth and Social Welfare, Nituranjan Dash said police took the rape survivor for medical examination 14 days after of the incident for which they were hardly able to collect any evidence.
“The survivor did not receive any medical assistance or compensation from the government under section 33 (8) of the POCSO Act. The girl’s parents’ financial condition is very weak and they were unable to afford a lawyer. They must be provided with a lady advocate appointed by District Legal Service Authority (DLSA),” he added.
Das further said the minor’s parents earlier filed an application in OHRC requesting compensation for their daughter. She recently submitted application with DGP’s office requesting protection to the victim’s family, he added.
Meanwhile, Banpur Police said it has already filed chargesheet in the rape case. “There was a brawl between two groups of women and both sides lodged cases. Some male members assaulted the minor girl’s mother and grandmother and efforts are on to nab them,” said Banapur police station Additional IIC, Rashmibala Sethi.