Athiyur Vijaya, 38, a tribal activist gang-raped by the Puducherry police in 1993, died of ill health at her home at Athiyur in Ginjee taluk on Thursday night.
Her protracted legal battle and the gravity of the crime made the headlines for years.
At 17, she was gang-raped by six policemen. Ever since, she had waged a relentless struggle to get justice and make a decent living, with the support of Kalyani, coordinator of the Pazhangudi Irular Padhukappu Sangam, and some human rights organisations.
Mr. Kalyani told The Hindu that on the night of July 29, 1993, six personnel attached to the Pondicherry Grand Bazaar Police Station went to Athiyur to look for a suspect involved in a theft at Venkata Nagar in the Union Territory.
Under the pretext of conducting an inquiry, the policemen took Vijaya and her parents Masi and Thangammal in a van to Puducherry. On reaching Vellamai village, the policemen gang-raped her in a farm.
On a complaint from the victim, the then Villupuram Collector ordered an inquiry by the District Revenue Officer. The inquiry report confirmed the rape and the Tamil Nadu government made her a one-time payment of Rs. 25,000.
The National Human Rights Commission ordered the Puducherry government to give her Rs. 2 lakh in compensation. Later, the case was handed over to the CB-CID which filed a charge sheet against the personnel on July 2, 1997.
Meanwhile, the defendants opted for an out-of-court settlement, offering her a handsome amount. However, Vijaya rejected it. When the case came up before the Villupuram District Sessions Court, Judge N. Rathanraj awarded life imprisonment to all the six personnel on August 11, 2006.
However, the accused appealed against the ruling in the Madras High Court. But, as Vijaya failed to file her counter within the stipulated time, the High Court acquitted them on September 19, 2008. Ever since, Vijaya was making a living by taking up odd jobs. In the past few years, she enrolled in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme.
