Dumaria rape victim returns home, gets grand welcome

The villagers called hers a rebirth. And they celebrated the 9-year-old Dumaria rape survivor’s homecoming with songs and garlands. It was a festival atmosphere, restricted only by the thought that her tormentor’s family lived in a nearby village.

The villagers called hers a rebirth. And they celebrated the 9-year-old Dumaria rape survivor’s homecoming with songs and garlands. It was a festival atmosphere, restricted only by the thought that her tormentor’s family lived in a nearby village.

The Dumaria girl looks at a presentation looking back at her recovery which saw an outpouring of support from HT’s readers. (Diwakar Prasad/HT photo)

Four months ago on a hot summer night, a 42-year-old truck driver had abducted the minor in her sleep from her thatched hut and brutally raped her, leaving her with a ruptured intestine and vagina.

The family shuttled between hospitals in Ranchi and their village in Dumaria block, a distance of around 220 km. After HT spotted and reported on August 29 about the girl and her father, who trudged great distance on foot with his injured daughter hoisted on his hip, the world seemed to be united in salvaging the girl out of misery.

Readers across India and abroad wrote to us and sent money for her treatment and rehabilitation. Medanta Hospital in Ranchi offered her free treatment.

On Tuesday forenoon the girl began her journey back home, doctors and other medical staff who cared for her found the separation painful. “She is a daughter to us. We all got so emotionally attached with her during her stay here. We wish her the best in her future journey,” said Dr H Singh, chief administrator of Medanta Ranchi.

“We are soon going to build a new house for them equipped with toilet and other necessary facilities. We were waiting for his father to select the site and give his requirements,” said Dumaria block development officer (BDO) Mritunjay Kumar.