Unnao horror: ‘The victim was threatened days ago’

The first act of Shivam Trivedi after he walked out of jail on bail four days ago was to threaten the woman, who he finally set on fire in the wee hours of Thursday

The first act of Shivam Trivedi after he walked out of jail on bail four days ago was to threaten the woman, who he finally set on fire in the wee hours of Thursday morning in Unnao, a relative of the victim has told the police.

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Shivam was put in jail after the victim lodged FIRs against him accusing him and his aide of rape.

The relative said that the entire Trivedi family, which was politically well-connected, was mounting pressure on her to withdraw the case.

Following Shivam’s release on bail, he sent out a proposal to her to patch up, and involving some village elders to build pressure on her and her father, the woman, who lives in Hindupur village in Unnao, told the Unnao police. Shivam’s uncle, one of five people named by the victim in her declaration, is the village headman and associated with the BJP. He wields considerable clout in the village.

In less than 24 hours of the proposal, a threat was also issued by Shivam through a person known to both families.

The victim’s refusal to budge, saying that nothing less than the marriage was acceptable to her, had infuriated Shivam Trivedi, he said.

On Thursday, he tracked her movements and accosted her near Gaura crossing with four others at 4:30 am on Thursday, when she was proceeding to the station to catch a train to Rae Bareli to attend the court hearing in her rape case, police said.

Again Shivam tried to persuade her by once again promising to marry her. When she refused, she was dragged into the fields, first beaten with lathis and then knifed in the neck before being doused with kerosene oil and set on fire, thr victim told the police during transit to hospital.