"India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters......" How many of them remember the pledge of the country? If yes, then sexual offences on women would undoubtedly seize. Who gave a right to look at a woman as a mere tool of pleasure still remains to be a question even in the age of information technology. As politicians boast about the one side of the coin, the other side still remains to be in the dark and AndhraWishesh tries to throw light on the otherside. In this effort to highlight the series of painful stories of sisters of India, some stories often make people think whether we are humans. If at least one person changes, we consider that our efforts turned fruitful.
This time we bring before you the ghory incident of a minor girl who was raped n number of times by nearly a dozen people for couple of months together. In Bhopal lived a happy girl aged below fifteen. She never knew that life was only a bed of thorns to her if not roses. She was married off by her farmer father and two years of her married life was not worst. But, the cruel side of her husband slowly unfolded and she had fallen prey to his dowry demands. Despite the poor farmer giving one lakh rupees as dowry, the husband Anand Kurmi and his in laws were demanding another one lakh rupees dowry besides a tractor, two wheeler and a colour television.
When girl's father failed to mobilize money, he was not allowed to meet his daughter. The farmer and his family, although felt bad for lost contacts with the innocent girl, were happy that their girl was happily settled. But, only the girl knew what was happening with her. She was allegedly locked up in a cow shed where her husband used to visit only to satisfy his physical needs and this didn't stop there. She became a pleasure tool to the husband's kins too who repeatedly raped her and then the turn was neighbours. The poor girl, who was not given proper food, presumably witnessed the worst.
After a few months, the victim was sent to her husband's relative's place. There the relative, Ram Singh and his two sons resorted to the same. They locked her up and raped her repeatedly for over 20 days. Later, Ram Singh sold the victim to a money lender for Rs. 50,000. One of the neighbours of money lender noticed the pathetic condition of the victim and promised that he would take her to hospital. But, on the way to the hospital, he raped her. This way, the girl was sexually exploited. The victim is now at her parents home. She was rescued on June 28.
Rahatgarh police were shocked when they received this complaint from the victim on July 1. Cases were booked against 10 persons under IPC sections 498-A, 372, 376 (rape), Sec 363 (kidnap), 294, 450, 34 and 506. Judiciary will give them the punishment they deserve. But, one cannot undo what this girl has gone through. An eye for eye will only be the solution so that others would fear before they hatch plans to harass women, said pro-feminists. Men resorting to such things should be mutilated, opined several others.
Punishments are not the aspects we should look at. We should aim at putting an end to such barbaric practices and that can be done only when all of us join hands together and take an oath in the name of God that we would strive to uproot dowry. Let us tell our family members and the people around us that dowry is not a tradition but evil. Your voice will not go waste.
(AW Phani)
