A 19-year-old rape survivor committed suicide in Jagadhari in Haryana six months after she was forced to marry her rapist by a panchayat. She was allegedly harassed and tortured by her in-laws for dowry. A complaint has been filed by the girl’s family against the rapist and his family.
Speaking to The Quint, SHO Sunil Kumar said:
The suicide was discovered on 25 October 2016. The rapist and his parents have been arrested. In her suicide note, she wrote that she was getting harassed for dowry. The girl had been raped around a year ago. Six months ago, the girl and the rapist reached a compromise and got married. According to the complaint filed by the girl’s family, her in-laws started torturing her two months ago.SHO Sunil Kumar, Jagadhari City Police Station
The rape occurred in Jagadhari in Yamunanagar district in October 2015. Afterwards, the rape survivor filed a complaint and the rapist, Anuj, was arrested. But as part of a compromise offered by a panchayat, he married the rape survivor. After they got married, the she testified in the rapist’s favour and he was cleared of all rape charges.
Also Read: How Do You Talk to a Father Whose Daughter Has Been Raped?
Reportedly, the victim’s mother has alleged that the girl was killed and then hanged to make it look like a case of suicide. She also accused the rapist’s family of harassing the victim to pay their legal expenses in the rape case.
The Quint’s WhatAfterRape campaign aims to create a discussion around the aftermath of rape. As part of this campaign, we are mapping rapes reported every day in India.
(Source: The Times of India)
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