'Mama, mujhe aur meri behen ko bacha lo'

When Vijay Parmar learnt that his nieces were being sexually abused by their father, his brother-in-law, at the behest of a tantrik for the last nine years, his first thought was to kill him. But then his family asked him to keep his cool and think about the girls, one aged 21, the other 15. The family is now worried about the girls' future and has requested the media not to hound them. Parmar told DNA how his elder niece gathered the courage to tell him about their ordeal.

How did you come to know about this?
On Tuesday night, my elder niece called me up on my cell. She was crying. She said her life had become miserable as her father had been sexually abusing her for the last nine years. And now he was raping her younger sister, too. She asked me: "Mama, main kya karun? Kuch samajh nahin aata. Papa ko rokna mushkil hai aur mummy bhi papa ki side mein hai. Mujhe aur meri bahen ko bacha lo. (Uncle, I don't know what to do. It is very difficult to stop father, and mother is on his side, too. Please save us.)"

I was shocked. I immediately told my brother about it. For a moment I thought I should kill my brother-in-law. Maine to tay kiya tha ke pehle uski pitaii karoonga aur bad me hi police ko de doonga (I had decided that I would thrash him before handing him over to the police).

But then my brother asked me to keep my cool. We are not junglee like him. So we took both the girls to the police station.

What do you know about the girls' father?
He is from Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh). After marrying my sister, he shifted to Mumbai. My sister had told me that he is short tempered. Just 10 days ago, he had broken his brand new mobile phone into small pieces with a hammer in a fit of rage.

A year back there was a wedding in our family. Our relatives presented him a Sonata wristwatch, but he didn't like it. He took a hammer and crushed it in front of us.

Perhaps that's why the girls kept mum about their ordeal. But I don't understand why my sister supported his heinous act for so many years.

What about the girls now?
That's our biggest worry. They have broken down, both emotionally and physically. Their parents are behind bars and the media is hounding them. And they also have to answer police queries, which is the worst. We will take care of them. But right now, I think they are heading nowhere.

Where are the girls now?
They are at their home, but I request you not to trouble them. They are not in a position to speak. The girls were at the police station till 3am, answering questions.

What happens next?
I want to ensure that the tantrik doesn't get bail at any cost. And if he gets it, I will see to it that he reaches the ICU of a hospital. He has ruined the lives of my nieces. He should be brought to justice, not set free.