Chennai: “I explained the entire incident in detail, but the police paid no heed and have failed us,” said Malar, as she broke down in front of presspersons on Monday, as she recounted the brutality that her daughter Nila (name changed) who died at the government hospital in Dharmapuri after being gang-raped on November 10 had to undergo. She, along with her husband Annamalai arrived at Chennai and addressed presspersons along with All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) on Friday.
On November 17, a special fact-finding team of five persons including a journalist, activists and an AIDWA member travelled to Chitling village in Arur taluk to unearth the facts of the case.
The team concluded its report, stating that grave injustice was done in the legal proceedings of the case.
“The same day, we filed an eight-page report and submitted it to the Kottaipatti inspector who did not even open it,” said P. Suganthi, state general secretary, AIDWA.
Kottaipatti police filed a report on their own, calling it ‘attempt to rape’, without a medical check or any corroborative evidence.
“We were asked not to tell anyone else, especially not even to doctors. They will make fun of you,” the investigative officer had told the victim’s mother.
Dharmapuri District Superintendent of Police, pointing fingers at the victim, said that she had multiple sexual relationship with men, and even had the callousness to call her a prostitute, Malar added.
Another report was drafted by the fact-finding team, and was attested by the victim's parents. The report condemned the action of the police, and demanded that a case be filed against inspector Muthukrishnan.
“Section 166A of the IPC, which is public servant disobeying direction under the law should be slapped on him. However, so far no action has been taken on any police officer in the state on whom this section had been slapped,” said Suganthi.
Section 166B, punishment for non-treatment of the victim should be slapped on the medical officers at the Arur government hospital also, since the medical officer did not provide medical care to the victim, because she hailed from a scheduled tribe community.
“They did not even touch my daughter, but submitted a fake medical report,” Malar added. Also, the FIR was changed to Section 376D - gangrape, only after Nila died on November 10.
Apart from their case findings, the fact-finding team also made a few suggestions to the government. Chitling village had no usable toilet facilities. The ones built by the government only four months back, are all in a dilapidated state, and these do not have doors.
“Due to this situation, our daughter had to go to the forest to defecate,” said Malar. “There is no road, and we do not even have a Primary Health Centre in Chitling. Where are all the facilities we were promised, and what has happened to the funds which were allocated for us?” she asked.
The fact-finding team, along with AIDWA members demand that the two accused in the case - Ramesh (23) and Satish (24), both be given death sentences.
“The reason that the duo was not dealt with an iron hand, is that their mother sells illegal liquor in the village. She and the police have an understanding, because of this business connection,” accused Malar.
Seventeen-year-old Nila died at the government hospital in Dharmapuri prompting a massive protest at the hospital by Arur residents, who expressed outrage at what they termed as ‘multiple accounts of apathy’ on the part of the police and the medical staff.
Two youths, identified as Ramesh (23) and Satish (24) , belonging to the same village teamed up and raped Nila, a class-12 student of a school in Pappireddypatti, who was staying at the government hostel for SC/STs, but had come to the village to spend the three-day Deepavali holidays with her family.
The girl was on her periods and had gone out to the fallow land near her house to dispose of her waste clothes when the two who were reportedly drinking there, caught hold of her. The girl, while trying to flee them, was hit in the back of her head by one of the men with a log, totally rendering her immobile.
