29 May,2016 02:15 PM IST | | Rupsa Chakraborty
After fighting with death for nine days with 77 per cent burns, Shobha Gawale (26) finally succumbed to the pain of burns on Saturday morning. But before she died, she fulfilled her last wish by telling the tale of torture and domestic violence to police in her second statement that her in-laws perpetuated on her for years
After fighting with death for nine days with 77 per cent burns, Shobha Gawale (26) finally succumbed to the pain of burns on Saturday morning. But before she died, she fulfilled her last wish by telling the tale of torture and domestic violence to police in her second statement that her in-laws perpetuated on her for years.
mid-day on May 23 highlighted the plight of the woman from Bhiwandi who was set ablaze for being unable to bear a child. She was called 'barren' and repeatedly subjected to domestic violence and dowry harassment. But in her first statement to police, due to her health condition, she could only complaint about the physical harassment that she underwent and how her husband doused her in kerosene and lit fire on her. But she couldn't inform how for days she was repeatedly subjected to domestic violence.
In the back drop, police only charged him under section 307 (attempt to murder) of Indian penal code and arrested them on the next day. But no charges of domestic violence was imposed.
But Shobha wanted to punish him for all the injustice and torture she suffered for seven years of marriage. Thus she wanted to give her second statement to police. But police didn't pay any heed to the repeated requests of her brothers to record her second statement.
"Why just attempt to murder charges be imposed on him? He has been abusing my sister for years. We want him to get punished for all his tortures so we wanted police to take her second statement," said Dhyneshwar Gaikwad, her eldest brother.
mid-day in its another story published on Wednesday, highlighted how police refused to take her second statement and kept postponing the issue knowing her deteriorating health condition. But finally, police on Friday night took her second statement when she was kept on oxygen.
"We are thankful to the paper for ringing the bell for us. I think my sister was alive so that she could tell the police about all the sufferings. She died just few hours after giving the statement," said Gaikwad.
Assistant police inspector Arun Kshir Sagar from Narpoli police station said that the second statement has been recorded and they would case would be investigated according to the complaints of the deceased.
