Dalit girl raped, denied marriage

Vandana Shukla / TNN / Apr 10, 2006, 02:36 IST

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In a workshop on Legal Implications of PC and PNDT Act, NHRC activists presented a strange case of sexual exploitation based on caste and gender.

CHANDIGARH: The case represents a unique cauldron of prejudices; of caste, gender and status. In a workshop on Legal Implications of PC and PNDT Act at Chandigarh, NHRC activists presented a strange case of sexual exploitation based on caste and gender.
When Dheeraj Kumar, a high caste boy learnt that the low caste girl, he was in a relationship with, was pregnant, he asked her to go in for sex detection test.If it turned out to be a boy, he said, he would marry her.
The girl, who refused to go through the test, is now a mother of a four-month-old baby girl. And this unwed mother now wants justice.
An emaciated 19-year-old Sapna (name changed on request) of Muktsar was first raped by Dheeraj Kumar, her neighbour, when she was only sixteen.

She did not talk about the incident to her parents out of fear. But after about two months when Dheeraj again raped her, she gained courage to tell her parents, who in return went to Dheeraj's mother Darshana Kumari to seek justice.
When Darshana and Dheeraj blamed Sapna of misconduct, the girl's family filed a case of rape against Dheeraj Kumar, who was later sentenced by a local court.
After Dheeraj Kumar had spent about five months in jail, his maternal uncle approached Sapna's family and assured them that Dheeraj would marry her, only if she withdrew all charges against him.

As an evidence of his honest intentions, his uncle gave them an affidavit to the effect. In return, Sapna too signed an affidavit that said whatever happened between her and Dheeraj was with mutual consent. The later was then released on the basis of this affidavit in November 2004.
Based on the promise of marriage Sapna had a relationship with Dheeraj for almost a year. When she became pregnant, he promised to marry after the delivery.
Her mother kept visiting Dheeraj's home to get the marriage solemnised, but after the birth of a girl child, Dheeraj's family refused the marriage pointing out Anita's Dalit status.
Meanwhile, Dheeraj opened a current account in Centurion Bank of Punjab, Muktsar, in the name of SC Firm, for which Anita's minor brother's signatures were allegedly used to frame him in a case of fraud.
When contacted, a bank official admitted that Dheeraj Kumar had allegedly used fake signatures for opening the account and an enquiry was on in the issue.
Later, Dheeraj filed a case of fraud against Sapna's brother and family, alleging they did not return a loan of Rs 70,000.
Dheeraj Kumar was not available for comment but his mother Darshana Kumari said, "My son is out of Muktsar since his release from the prison. We paid Rs one lakh to the girl's family, yet they are concocting stories to harass us. My son is not the father of the child."

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