Mysuru: The advocate who is appearing on behalf of the Mysore rape victim has strongly refuted charges that the two brothers had fallen out over their inheritance, stating that the victim’s husband had also signed a document relinquishing all claims to his family’s property - albeit without his knowledge but allegedly at his father's behest - there was no question of a property dispute.
The rape victim, the daughter of a retired IAS officer filed a case of rape and attempt to murder her, as well as her unborn child and dowry harassment against her brother-in-law Prabudha Harsha Murthy, and her in-laws Mr and Mrs V.B. Murthy. The victim claims she was raped when she was eight months pregnant by the brother-in-law who tried to strangle her to death.
Her advocate, Captain Arvind Sharma said “there has been no property case at all, except for the Injunction petition with a clear request that he and his wife should not be removed from the house as there was a threat. That is all.”
The advocate said the injunction was to ensure that the victim and her husband could stay on in the family home during and after the delivery of their first child, as medical records of BM hospital would show the young woman had undergone surgery at the Mysuru facility and needed care.
“Soon after the baby was born, the victim's mother, the wife of the IAS officer also came to stay in Pramod's house at VV Mohalla in Mysuru for post-natal, post-surgery care of the victim and the newborn,” the advocate said. "Hence, Pramod filed an Injunction petition in Mysuru Court to ensure that he, his wife and child are not removed from the house that's all," he said.
He also laid to rest persistent doubts on the delay in filing the complaint. He was asked, why, if the IAS officer could write about the harassment meted out to his daughter by her in-laws as early as February 2015 in a newspaper where he is a columnist - which indicated his daughter had revealed the details to the parents - did he not advise his daughter to file the complaint in February itself? Instead, she waited till April 14 to lodge the complaint after Mr Prabudh Harsha Murthy filed a case of assault (when he was assaulted with a sickle by Pramod on November 11, the same day of the rape).
Mr Sharma's answer: "It is only at that point, after she moved back into her parents' home, that his daughter had told her parents what had happened to her. Until then, she had only mentioned the dowry harassment. And the IAS officer had advised his daughter to file a complaint about it. It was Mr Prabudh's complaint of assault against her husband Pramod that was the trigger for the victim to lodge the complaint on April 14. The victim, her husband, her father, mother and brother had to take anticipatory bail as they were not in a position to trust anybody, " he said.
The advocate also denied any dowry changed hands, while stressing the simplicity of the IAS officer's daughter's wedding at Kuvempu's Manthra Mangalya at Bengaluru Palace Ground. While the oath was administered by the IAS officer's friend another IAS officer, Jnanapeeta awardee Mr U. R. Ananthmurthy signed as witness for the wedding, in November 2011.
