In the third such incident reported in the last few days, a rape survivor in western Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat, 53 km from Delhi, was allegedly threatened by the man she accused of rape of facing consequences “worse than that of the Unnao case”, referring to the victim who died after she was set on fire by the accused perpetrators last week.
A pamphlet had been pasted outside the house of a rape victim in Bijrol village of Baraut with the threat reading, “If you appear in the court on the given date to give your statement then you will face consequences worse than that of the Unnao victim.”
The woman was allegedly raped in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar last year, following which she filed a police complaint in July 2018. The rape-accused who was arrested by Delhi Police after the complaint was lodged had been released on bail on Wednesday. Reportedly, the pamphlet surfaced around the same time.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Baghpat, Pratap Gopender Yadav told ANI that the accused Soran Singh, who belonged to the same village as the victim has been again taken into custody following the woman’s complaint which said that Soran Singh had put up that poster outside her house. He also confirmed that adequate security has been provided to the victim.
Pratap Gopender Yadav, Superintendent of Police (SP) Baghpat: This is a 2018 case, the victim & accused belong to the same village, the accused Soran got bail in the case then. We have registered a case and have arrested Soran again. Security has been provided to the victim. 2/2 https://t.co/unBPh3Jz08 pic.twitter.com/AfcrGmRVat
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 12, 2019
The SP furthered that the rape survivor in the FIR lodged said that “the incident took place about a year ago when she was taken to a friend’s place by Sohran Singh where she was given drugs in a beverage and then raped. The accused made a video of the incident and used it to blackmail and rape the victim again.”
“The woman’s father works as a driver in Delhi. Yesterday, when they returned to their house in the village, they found the note pasted on the wall of their house,” Mr Yadav said.
The man accused of raping her, however, said that some of his rivals in the village had put up the posters to implicate him.
This is the third such incidents reported in the last few days where the rape accused has used the Unnao incident to threaten the victim. Yesterday, a minor girl, a victim of gang rape in Ghazipur area of Fatehpur district, has filed a complaint with the police claiming that the family members of the accused have threatened her with “Unnao-like” fate if she did not withdraw her complaint against the accused.
Prior to this, another minor girl from Kanpur was allegedly molested by some men, who even threatened her with the ‘Unnao rape victim-like fate’ if she approached the police for the same.
On the early hours of Thursday, December 5, the 23-year-old Unnao rape survivor was set on fire by pouring kerosene on her by five men, including the duo who are accused of raping her a year ago. The incident occurred at Sindupur village under the Bihar police station area on the wee hours of Thursday when the rape accused and his friends allegedly dragged the woman outside of her village, took her into the fields and doused her in kerosene before setting her on fire.
