Told by HC to give birth, rape victim pushed to corner

A day after the Gujarat High Court told a gangrape victim to “bravely go ahead with her pregnancy and deliver the child”, the 23-year-old Friday said she would abide by the court’s directive. But the woman, who was allegedly abducted from outside her home in July, 2014 and held in captivity for eight-nine months in different locations, was not sure whether she would keep the child after its birth.

“We will give the baby to the government and let them decide its fate,” her husband said.

The court had rejected the woman’s appeal to get an abortion because she is almost seven months pregnant.

Talking to The Indian Express, the woman, who has two sons and is married to a cart puller, said, “I have left everything to the court. I went to the high court after the gangrape as I did not wish to keep the child, but they said there is a threat to my life if I go ahead with the abortion.

So I have accepted the court’s decision… I am in no position to decide on what to do and what not to do.”

The woman, who is currently staying with her mother in Botad, is the eldest of four siblings. “As a mother, I feel I should keep the child. But when I think of the suffering I endured, I ask myself why I should keep it. If the court decides that I should give the child away after birth, I will do so,” she said.

Her advocate Pratik Barot has submitted before the court that her husband “has disowned her and wants her to get the pregnancy terminated”. But sitting next to him, she tells a different story: “My husband is supportive. He says that it is not my fault and the decision is mine.”

She remembers the day she was abducted from her rented home in Surat by seven men. “I had just fed my little one and was sweeping outside my home when I was taken. When I asked them to let me go, they beat me up,” she said.
A missing person complaint was filed on July 13, 2014 in Surat, from where it was transferred to Botad.

“When I was abducted, everyone in the village used to tell my mother that I went on my own. But she always defended me.”

Now, her mother says she fears the family will be ostracised after the baby is born. “We will give this baby to the government to decide its fate. I have a 15-year-old daughter and a son in the ninth standard. Under these circumstances, if people come to know about the baby, who will accept my daughter, or get their daughter married to my son? We are a close knit community; everybody knows about this incident,” her mother said.

The victim’s 27-year-old husband has similar views. “I don’t know what we will do with the baby. We will give it to the government and let them decide its fate,” he said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Botad district, Tejas Patel said that based on the woman’s complaint, four persons — Ahmed Usman, Saddam Usman, Alam Usman and Savji Bhikha — have been arrested so far, while two are absconding. The seventh accused — a sarpanch of a neighbouring village — has got a stay order against his arrest.
Patel said the police have started keeping a watch over the family.

The victim’s family, meanwhile, alleged police were protecting the accused. They claimed that three investigating officers were changed in less than a month of lodging an FIR in March. Botad SP S K Gadhvi refuted the allegations, saying, “Since it is a sensitive case, the investigation is now being done by a senior officer. It only shows that it is being taken seriously.”

The Gujarat High Court had Thursday ordered the district collector to assist the woman by providing medical treatment and looking after the baby once it is born. But on Friday, the family claimed that nobody from the administration had visited them so far.

Source:: Indian Express