ON December 6, 2019, as India was reeling from a rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad, a 23-year-old woman ran down the streets of Unnao, in flames, crying for help. A resident of Hindu Nagar, the woman was on her way to a
Raebareli court to meet her lawyer. She was fighting a case against Shivam Trivedi and other accomplices for allegedly gang-raping her. As she made her way to the railway station, five people attacked her, including two accused in her case who were out on bail.
The individuals beat her with sticks, stabbed her, then doused her with kerosene, and set her ablaze. As a ball of fire, she ran until a local resident saw her and called the police. Grievously injured, she narrated the incident to the police on the phone, and named the accused.
Initially taken to a local hospital, the woman was then transferred to a Lucknow facility. Suffering 90 per cent burns, she was airlifted to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. After a 36-hour battle, she died; her last words were a plea to her brother to ensure her murderers hanged.
Six years ago, the woman had filed an FIR detailing how she had been raped at gunpoint by her then-fiancé Shivam Trivedi. The perpetrators remain at large. According to her FIR, Trivedi took her to a rented room in Raebareli, and held her captive for over a month. Trivedi and his cousin Shubham repeatedly raped her, filmed the act, and tried to blackmail her into silence.
Systematic Betrayals
The woman was the youngest of seven children in a lower-caste, poor family. While Trivedi, who lived in the same village, belonged to an influential, upper-caste Hindu family. She alleged that Trivedi had taken her to Raebareli saying they’d get married in a civil court.
On December 12, the accused arrived at her home and asked her to come with him to a nearby temple to get married. They raped her at gunpoint, states her FIR.
Denne historien er fra September 11, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 11, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trump's White House 'Waapsi'
Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election may very well mean an end to democracy in the near future
IMT Ghaziabad hosted its Annual Convocation Ceremony for the Class of 2024
Shri Suresh Narayanan, Chairman Managing Director of Nestlé India Limited, congratulated and motivated graduates at IMT Ghaziabad's Convocation 2024
Identity and 'Infiltrators'
The Jharkhand Assembly election has emerged as a high-stakes political contest, with the battle for power intensifying between key players in the state.
Beyond Deadlines
Bibek Debroy could engage with even those who were not aligned with his politics or economics
Portraying Absence
Exhibits at a group art show in Kolkata examine existence in the absence
Of Rivers, Jungles and Mountains
In Adivasi poetry, everything breathes, everything is alive and nothing is inferior to humans
Hemant Versus Himanta
Himanta Biswa Sarma brings his hate bandwagon to Jharkhand to rattle Hemant Soren’s tribal identity politics
A Smouldering Wasteland
As Jharkhand goes to the polls, people living in and around Jharia coalfield have just one request for the administration—a life free from smoke, fear and danger for their children
Search for a Narrative
By demanding a separate Sarna Code for the tribals, Hemant Soren has offered the larger issue of tribal identity before the voters
The Historic Bonhomie
While the BJP Is trying to invoke the trope of Bangladeshi infiltrators”, the ground reality paints a different picture pertaining to the historical significance of Muslim-Adivasi camaraderie