: Deeply traumatised, the 16-year-old who was allegedly gang-raped by her landlord and two others in New Ashok Nagar on December 16 has only been talking about killing herself since the incident, claim her relatives.
The three accused allegedly drugged the Bihar native, who had moved to Delhi to take care of her bedridden aunt and uncle who had met with an accident recently, and took turns to rape her.
Trauma
Her traumatised behaviour, allegations of theft by the family of the accused and the challenge of taking every precaution to prevent word reaching their village in Bihar, the aftermath is every bit as jarring for the family as the incident itself.
“Since the effect of the drug subsided, she has been sobbing uncontrollably. The house where she is staying now is on the fourth floor. All she talks about is jumping from the fourth floor and she has talked about it at least a dozen times. When she is not talking about committing suicide, she cries inconsolably. She has been skipping her meals as well. We don’t know how to handle the situation,” said one of her uncles.
Just a fortnight after she arrived at the Capital, she was abducted by the trio while she was cooking on the night of December 15. She was found shaking a few hours later in the same house. She claimed to remember someone dragging her after gagging her just before she feel unconscious.
Girl not convinced
Her uncle said the family’s efforts to tell her not to blame herself have not been convincing enough.
They claimed she was not provided any counselling as is the norm in such cases. Denying this, the police said she was counselled thrice. However, by the third session the psychologist said she needed more counselling due to the shock.
More problems
The family’s limited means and an earning member out of work due to the accident means they cannot afford a private counsellor. Their problems don’t end there.
A full day after the accused were arrested, the victim’s family were told by the Investigating Officer (IO) that their landlord’s family had accused her three family members, including the children of her bedridden uncle, of stealing some jewellery.
“These are baseless allegations and an afterthought. We were busy looking for the girl the whole night. The accused were arrested later. We tried explaining the same to the IO, who casually said if she had not questioned their version in the gang-rape case, there was no need for her to question the theft complaint. Are these cases the same?” said her uncle.
Belongings
DCP (East) Omvir Singh said no written complaint had been received from the family of the accused.
This has deterred them from collecting their belongings from the room they had rented from the landlord. “The house has been locked since the incident. I fear if we go and unlock it, they will blame us for something else,” said the uncle.
However, untouched by this upheaval in their lives are the victim’s parents. In the close-knit rural society, if the word spreads, the stigma attached to it is far more than what a victim is experiencing in the city. “It will ruin everything, from her matrimonial prospects to her parents’ work,” said her uncle.
