Nirbhaya’s family may have got justice after relentlessly fighting a 7-year-long battle, but there are many helpless girls and women, who are still struggling to see their rapists behind the bars. One such soul who recently gave up on her struggle is a 22-year-old law student.
In a heart-wrenching incident, a 22-year-old law student hanged herself at her residence to end her life on January 7. The incident happened just four months after she was raped by two men in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki.
When the body of the LLB student was found hanging from the roof at her residence, as per the sources, the police dismissed this case as “just another case of suicide”. But the mother of the deceased claimed that her daughter was a gang-rape victim and the police had refused to take action. After this, the police started investigating the matter.
So What Happened
Two months ago, the young girl had lodged a rape complaint against a government employee and his friend, alleging gangrape. But the police refused to take action on her complaint.
According to the deceased’s mother, police had initially refused to file a complaint against the village revenue clerk and his friend who had allegedly raped the student. The victim’s mother also shared that her daughter was under pressure from the two accused that led her to commit suicide.
While sharing how her daughter was denied justice, her mother further added:
“We had to move court before an FIR was registered in October last year. Even then, the case was not properly investigated. My daughter was deeply perturbed by the attitude of the police. She was also being threatened by the accused.”
Superintendent of Police (SP) Akash Tomar dismissed the allegation and said the final report had been drafted, but it was yet to be submitted in court. He also said that an abetment to suicide case had been filed on the mother’s complaint.
This isn’t the first time that authorities inaction has led to the death of a rape victim.
Last month, the police were questioned when a 27-year-old veterinary doctor, Disha (name changed) was raped and brutally murdered, while she was returning to her home in Hyderabad.
The family mentioned that the police initially refused to help them and said that she might have eloped with someone. As per India Today, the victim’s family believed that the police could have saved her only if they acted on time.
While sharing the details of how police authorities failed at saving his daughter, the victim’s father mentioned:
“The police kept delaying the matter. They kept us waiting for three hours, two constables went looking for my daughter but failed. The police apathy costs us our daughter.”
It is heartbreaking to see how our system failed a girl who was a law student herself.
At IFORHER, we are mourning the death of this daughter, who after being a law student herself, couldn’t find a ray of hope for seeking justice. While the parents of this daughter suffer through the unbearable pain of losing their daughter, we are feeling heartbroken and shattered.
It is disheartening to see that our system has not only failed at protecting women from sex-deprived monsters but also failed at providing justice to them.