Even after relocating six times, gang-rape survivor awaits justice

The survivor said that she couldn't tell her husband as they had threatened her at gunpoint. Representation Pic

Four months after shifting to Kalyan in 2017, a 30-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by a group of seven men for seven days in a row, but the cops as well as the state government have failed to get her justice even though she claims to have relocated six times because of the incident.

Gang-raped for seven days
After repeatedly knocking on the doors of ministers and senior police officers in a bid to be heard, her family's requests continue to be ignored. Their only wish is to get the accused arrested and a charge sheet filed in the case.

Originally from Jalgaon, the family moved to a village in Kalyan in February last year. Apart from running a grocery store, they owned an auto-rickshaw, which they primarily used for transporting the essentials. Narrating the incident, the victim said that one day while she was sitting in the shop, the accused arrived and gave her some prasad, which was laced with sedatives. Then they raped her and even molested her 11-year-old daughter. From that day onwards, the accused raped her for a week.

She also said that she couldn't reveal the incident to her husband as they had threatened her at knifepoint. She even alleged that the accused had filmed her in the act. "I kept quiet because I was afraid. My husband got to know about it after a week when my daughter complained of pain in her private parts and he spotted some unknown men loitering in the area. That is when I told him what had happened."

The family also alleges that the police refused to take a gang-rape complaint and registered a rape case instead. The copy of the FIR that they handed over to mid-day mentions sections 376 (rape) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.

Meanwhile, the family had gone to Mantralay to meet the chief minister on Friday, but as he wasn't available, they met Education Minister Vinod Tawde. They had also met Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday. However, the victim is of the opinion that though the ministers promised them justice, nothing has been done in the case till now.

"We don't trust anyone. Evidence has been destroyed and we were forced to move out of the village," said the victim's husband.

Cops speak
Speaking to mid-day, Inspector General (Konkan Range), Nawal Bajaj, said, "We have changed investigation officers in the case a number of times. Officers from outside Thane rural were also asked to investigate the case. The probe is still not over."

Also Read: 52-Year-Old Man Arrested For Rape And Sexual Assault Of Sisters

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