While Gujarat is busy celebrating International Women's Day, a mentally-challenged girl from Sanand is yet to get help from any quarter over two months after she was raped.
While Gujarat is busy celebrating International Women's Day, a mentally-challenged girl from Sanand is yet to get help from any quarter over two months after she was raped.
Her family had approached many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) after the rape incident in December last year, but none has offered any help so far.
The girl, Bharti (name changed) was allegedly raped in December and a police complaint was also filed in this connection. But the accused were arrested and remanded in judicial custody only after DNA reported the incident on January 4, 2011.
The victim and her family are now running from pillar to post for legal help and protection for the unfortunate girl as the relatives of the accused have been putting pressure on the family to agree to some kind of a settlement.
During a visit to the victim's house, DNA found that her family members were so scared of their co-villagers that they might agree to a settlement with the family of the accused unless someone comes forward to help them.
"We have sought help and support for Bharti from many people and organisations but so far we have got no assistance from anyone, not even the NGOs who claim to be working for women's welfare," said Sharda Padhar, a local resident helping the rape victim entirely on humanitarian grounds.
Bharti is the eldest daughter of the family and has been mentally ill for over 10 years. "She has a younger sister and two brothers, while her father drives a camel cart in Sanand," Padhar told DNA.
Bharti's mother nowadays is with her daughter most of the time.
She told DNA that if she leaves Bharti alone, she begins to wander aimlessly from one place to another. "She was raped by two youths of this village when she was wandering alone," her mother said. "I never leave her alone after that."
Bharti's father is a daily-wage worker and drives a camel cart. He said that now he does not take any contracts for journeys over long distances as that would mean staying away from home for long periods of time.
"I cannot do that because then my wife faces problems in taking care of Bharti," he said.
The family has been doing its best to pursue the case in court but it is under pressure to agree to an out-of-court settlement.
"We have approached many organisations for support but, so far, we have not received any help from anyone," he said.
The only support the family got was from Cranti (Citizen's Resource and Action Initiatives) which wrote a letter to the chief minister's office and concerned departments.
Bharatsinh Zala, a member of Cranti, told DNA that he had also tried to persuade many NGOs to help the girl but none had offered any assistance.
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