As if the rape and murder of his seven-year-old daughter was not enough, he was made to leave his village too. The father is now seeking justice and protesting at Jantar Mantar.
He is a resident of a village in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh. He told HT that the police have arrested one of the three accused but not the main culprit, who is a relative of the local MLA.
“I am a daily-wage labourer. After the incident, I had to move my family to another village after repeated threats from the accused. Despite several reminders to the local police, they are not taking action and I had to come to Delhi. I am sitting at Jantar Mantar demanding justice and have written to the prime minister and home minister too,” said the father.
He said his daughter went missing on September 11 from outside the house. A day later, her body was found dumped in an open hole in the village, barely a few metres from the house. Post-mortem examination revealed sexual assault. “There were three people in the house where she was raped. The police have arrested one person but did not arrest the other two,” he further said.
“They must conduct a narco test (truth serum) of the arrested person. Why are the police shielding the other two? They are openly threatening us because of which we now have been forced to change our location frequently. We have lost our daughter and now our livelihood too,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“They must conduct a narco test (truth serum) of the arrested person. Why are the police shielding the other two? They are openly threatening us because of which we now have been forced to change our location frequently. We have lost our daughter and now our livelihood too,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}The girl’s father got in touch with an NGO in Delhi, who helped him write to the Prime Minister’s Office and sit on a protest at Jantar Mantar.
“The law and order situation is deteriorating in Uttar Pradesh and the police are unable to stop crimes against women. Even children are not safe. The victim’s family is being treated as the accused. The home minister must take a stock of the situation and order a high-level inquiry,” said Mohammad Naseem, who runs an NGO in northeast Delhi.
The victim’s father has also demanded that the blood and DNA samples of the remaining two accused must be taken to prove their involvement in the crime.