While many across the country continue to fight against increasing crimes against women & children, Uttar Pradesh has once again witnessed an incident that will bring shame to the entire country.
In a heartbreaking incident that reminded many about the ugly incident of Unnao last year, father of a girl, who was allegedly raped six months back in Shikohabad, was brutally shot dead by the man accused in the rape case on Monday, February 10, in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district.
As per the sources, the girl had filed a rape case against Achaman Upadhyay in August last year. However, the accused was not arrested and had been on the run since.
So, while the authorities kept ignoring and failing this father, in the end, this father had to pay the price for standing for his daughter’s dignity.
The deceased’s brother said the rape case trial was scheduled for Tuesday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. He said:
“My brother was coming for the trial but he was shot by miscreants.”
According to the police, the deceased father has been identified as Rajiv Kumar. He was taken to a government trauma center but was declared brought dead. Sachindra Patel, Senior Superintendent of Police Firozabad, said:
“Based on the family’s complaint, a First Information Report has been registered. The body has been sent for postmortem and five teams have been deployed to arrest the accused.”
Though the police inspectors in-charge have been suspended based on observed negligence, it is disheartening to see what this family has to go through for standing for their daughter.
The heartbroken family of the rape victim alleged that no action has been taken in the case for the past six months. They also alleged that the accused made a threatening call to the victim’s mother a few days back.
Meanwhile, Agra Inspector General Satish A Ganesh said earlier a reward of Rs 15,000 was announced for information on the accused and now it has been increased to Rs 50,000.
Another Unnao?
Last year, a rape survivor was set ablaze by her rapists when the girl was en route a local court for her case hearing. After battling for two days for life, she succumbed to her injuries. But she isn’t the only one who paid the price for standing for her rights.
In another fight against rape, a rape victim attempted to immolate herself in front of the residence of Adityanath, stating that the police had taken no action against the accused. A day later, on 9 April, her father died in judicial custody shortly thereafter. These incidents brought public attention to the case, and the incident was widely reported on in the national media in April 2018.
The Bottom Line:
As many of us mourning the death of this courageous and supportive father, we are disgusted by how the authorities have failed this daughter and her family. If a daughter has to lose her father for standing up for her dignity, will any daughter ever gather the courage to raise her voice.
