“If I die, nobody will call me a prostitute anymore.” These were the last words of the rape victim in Bhilai, who committed suicide after a one-year-long legal battle and taunts from locals. The 21-year-old was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room on Thursday when police came to her house to deliver the court’s summon for the next hearing on February 2 in the ongoing rape case.
The deceased, who was pursuing B.Sc was raped by a doctor and two constables of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Bhilai in June 2014 when she had gone there for some treatment.
“The doctor, Gautam Pandit, told her she had jaundice and kept her at the hospital for three days. He drugged her, and with constables Saurabh Bhakta and Chandra Prakash Pandey, raped her. Then for over six months, they threatened her, saying they had made a video, and even took money from her on two occasions,” said the victim’s brother.
It was on January 2015, almost six months after the incident, that she told her parents about it, who later approached the police. Initially, the local police tried to hush up the issue but later arrested the three accused after filing an FIR.
The suicide letter written in Hindi indicates that she was also a bit disappointed with the prosecutor and the way the case was progressing. She explained how she lost faith in the judicial process saying “Whenever I go to court on the date I am called, the judge is not present in court.”
In her suicide note, the girl also said her lawyer, Kalpana Deshmukh, told her there was little hope of her getting justice, and that she would be made to run around in court. In the letter, the girl goes on to seek the forgiveness of her parents. “Please mummy, papa – forgive me. Nor will I get justice anymore, nor will I be able to move forward in life.”
The victim’s brother said that when she decided to file a police complaint, she was beaten up for ‘lying’ and they even got threatening calls from the accused. “The family was being threatened to withdraw the complaint. They even came to our house. Sometimes she even got calls from within the jail premises. There was constant harassment. After the matter came to light, people would call her names. It was just too much for her to handle,” he says.
Following the suicide of the rape victim, local police have registered a complaint and an investigation is on. “We will reach a conclusion in the case. Action will be taken against all the accused. All those who have been named will be questioned, including the lawyers,” said Rajesh Agarwal, ASP, Bhilai.