E-Paper
Family moved to Etah for better future of 7-year-old girl raped at wedding
The rape and murder cut short the life and dreams of the seven-year-old girl who wanted to become a teacher.
The father of the seven-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Etah early Tuesday had moved to the city two years ago for her education, little knowing that his daughter would not live to study beyond the second standard.
“I had a garments business in a village near Etah. But for the better education and future of my daughter, I decided to move to Etah city and got her enrolled in an English medium school. But destiny had something else in store for us,” said the father.
The girl aspired to be a teacher.
“My daughter always wanted to become a teacher and I was preparing to shift her to Navodaya School for better education. She cleared Class 2 with flying colours and was a support for her two younger brothers,” he said, adding: “She was a fine artist and could sketch whatever she saw and always said she would teach girls to find their identity.”
Mohit Kumar, a neighbour of the family, remembers the little girl going to a computer centre near her house.
“There was a tragedy in her relative’s family recently. Her parents went to their kin leaving the three children (the girl and her two brothers) at my house. The girl was so responsible that she rose early and got her two brothers ready before going to school,” Kumar said.
The soft spoken girl was a regular to a computer centre and always enquired about career prospects, he stated.
Shops in the area near Mandi Samiti premises were closed in grief as people were shocked after the girl was raped and killed by the accused who worked as a labourer at a shop near the victim’s house.
“There should be some law to prevent such incidents. Daughters should be given a world where they can become teachers or pursue a career of their choice,” said the girl’s crestfallen father.
The girl became another statistic in Uttar Pradesh’s unenviable reputation as the topper in crime against minors in the country.
