A gang-rape victim's 100-kilometre walk for justice

After failing to get the offenders arrested even a year after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by them, a gang-rape victim walked around one hundred kilometers from her village in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli district to knock at the doors of chief minister Yogi Adityanath in the state capital.

Carrying a banner stating 'nyaya chahiye' (seeking justice) in one hand and a child in the other, the victim, who was accompanied by her husband, tried to go to the CM residence at Kalidas Marg here on Tuesday but was thwarted in her attempt by the security personnel.

She was instead taken to the Hazratganj police station here with the assurance that her complaint would be looked into.

''I simply wanted to apprise the CM about my plight....I have been making rounds of the local police station and district police officials for the past several months but no action has yet been taken against the offenders,'' she said.

The victim said that she had been gang-raped by two persons, who hailed from her village in October last year. ''I lodged a complaint with the police and also got my statement recorded before a magistrate but even then the offenders have been roaming freely...they have threatened to kill me and my family if I pursue the case,'' she said.

''Either give us justice or allow us to commit suicide....we can not live with such humiliation,'' the victim said.

The incidents have crimes against the women had registered a sharp increase in the state in the past few months. The opposition parties have attacked the BJP government for its alleged failure to ensure the safety of the women.