Now, the 'rape victim' wants to marry her tormentor

In a sudden twist in the tale, the ‘rape victim’ in the much-publicised sex-scandal in Patna has prayed before the court that she be allowed to marry her ‘tormentor’.

The victim, a Dalit, who is the daughter of a former Congress minister, had charged a young businessman Nikhil Priyadarshi, son of retired IAS officer Krishna Bihari Prasad, with rape and running a sex racket in Patna.

After the victim lodged a FIR (No. 26/16) at the SC/ST police station charging Nikhil, his brother Subhash, his father Krishna Bihari, and friends Sanjit, Brajesh Pandey and Mrinal with sexually abusing her, the police arrested Nikhil and his father from Uttarakhand.

They were charged under Sections 354 and 376 of the IPC, and other Sections of the SC/ST Act besides POCSO (Protection of children from sexual offences) Act, since the girl was a minor when the crime was committed. The medical examination later confirmed that the girl was raped multiple times by the accused.

The father-son duo was on the run for about two months before being apprehended from Laxmanpur in Garhwal in Uttarakhand during a vehicle checking drive in March 2017. Their Audi car was also seized. They were brought to Patna and produced before the court which remanded them to jail.

Now, in a sudden twist, the girl has moved an application (also called compromise petition) before the special judge hearing the case, Justice Akhilanand Dubey, praying that she was ready to marry the accused Nikhil. The petition, which has the signature of the ‘victim’, says that since the family elders from both sides have suggested that a compromise should be reached between the two families, she was making a fresh appeal to start life afresh.

However, law experts argue that since the girl had slapped the case under SC/ST Act and recorded her statement under 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), that too when she was a minor (she now claims to be a major), it could be difficult for the court to allow a compromise. “In a rape case, that too under SC/ST Act, the various sections are non-compoundable, which essentially means there is no scope for compromise. Let’s see what the court decides,” said a senior lawyer.