Rape victim claims police 'torturing' her with questions

RAJKOT: Nasim Chauhan, who alleged that she was gang-raped by a mob of 20 people during the post-Godhra riots, stated in an affidavit submitted to the Rajkot city commissioner on Thursday that she was undergoing mental stress and trauma on account of the repeated questioning she was having to undergo.
Nasim also said that she was also witness to the killing of her husband Salimbabu and brother-in-law Yunus.Nasim is also prime witness to the murder of Shahmiya Bapu, a priest of a ‘dargah''.
In her affidavit, endorsed by notary J C Desai of Ahmedabad, Nasim stated that she was questioned for five hours on January 9, 2004 in presence of two inspectors and a woman. She was then summoned to Rajkot on October 9, subjected to questioning for six hours and also taken to the spot of the incident to reconstruct the event.
Further, on October 14, she was again grilled for six hours. It was on this day that she lodged a complaint of rape. Nasim also alleged that she was then called at the women''s police station and was grilled for five days continuously. She attributed her mental fatigue to this repeated grilling.
The affidavit began with a description of how her husband was tortured and killed along with Yunus, and how she had seen Shahmiya being burnt alive and how she became a victim of gang-rape.
Nasim''s mother, Shirinbanu Ahmedmiya, said that after her husband died, Nasim worked as a domestic help. Shirinbanu insisted that despite Zahira Shaikh''s turnaround in Vadodara, Nasim was firm on her statement.
She reiterated that though the men who raped her had coloured their faces black, Nasim could identify the culprits if they were produced before her again. Nasim was, however, not available for comment as she had moved to Dariapur in Ahmedabad.
When contacted, Rajkot police commissioner Sanjay Srivastav admitted having received the affidavit and said he was looking into it.