This father still waits for justice

Neha / TNN / Apr 24, 2006, 00:25 IST

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It has been 10 years since Chaman Lal Mattoo, whose daughter was raped and strangled by a retired bureaucrat's son, has been fighting for justice.

NEW DELHI: It has been 10 long years since 70-year-old Chaman Lal Mattoo, whose daughter was allegedly raped and strangled by a retired bureaucrat's son, has been fighting for justice. He is tired and weary but determined not to give up his quest.
"They want me to die just like Jessica's father so that the case can be conveniently shut. They are praying for my end," says a grieving father of Priyadarshini Mattoo.
The accused, Santosh Kumar Singh, son of retired I-G J P Singh, was acquitted of the charge and is now a practising lawyer.
Two days after Jessica's father passed away, Mattoo shows determination and courage to fight till the very end. "It is the sole purpose of my life now," he says. Mattoo still shuttles between Delhi and Jammu - which has become his home now.

"When the media started writing about the Jessica and Mattoo case, I started getting threat calls. Earlier this month, I got a call asking me 'tum abhi bhi zinda ho'? I have no fear of death but I do not want the case to die with me," he says.
However, there has been no progress in the case in the past two years. With the investigating agency, the CBI, making little headway in the case, Mattoo is a bitter man.
"No one cares now. I was assured of a speedy probe by CBI in 2000 but since then they have not bothered to inform me of the developments.

They (CBI) don't even know who the public prosecutor is. The one appointed earlier was disengaged for two years, and most of the time they send their juniors who are incompetent. It is all a gimmick," he alleges.
He adds: "I want to live to the day when I can see him (Santosh Kumar Singh) behind bars. I will fight till I can."
Following the case and taking it to its logical conclusion has become his life's main goal. "I am already almost dead.
This is my afterlife... I approached the commissioner of police asking for protection when I got a threat call earlier this month. I wrote a letter to him on April 13," Mattoo says.

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