I hope perpetrators will now think twice before touching a woman: Esther’s dad

Machilipatnam/Hyderabad: As the digital clock on the wall struck 12.26pm on Friday, S Jonathan Surendra Prasad received a text message from Mumbai that read: “Chandrabhan Sanap sentenced to death.” The 62-year-old retired professor of political science, who was glued to his TV since early morning, looked at his family members and smiled.
Sanap was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Prasad’s daughter Esther Anuhya in 2014.“The judgment is a huge relief,” said Prasad who hopes it will serve as a deterrent to crimes against women. “After the incident, a lot of families were frightened to send their daughters to places far from home. Now, with this judgment, I hope perpetrators will think twice before touching a woman.”
Esther’s mother, Rejina Jyotsna, said, “Justice has prevailed. I hope daughters will not fear to pursue their dreams now.” Lavanya, Esther’s younger sister, came running home to hear the news from her relatives. “I have been waiting for a long time for the pronouncement of the sentence,” she said.
“My daughter loved Japanese and Korean movies. She wanted to go to Germany for further studies. Though she’s gone, her dreams will keep us going,” said Prasad, who had showcased a strong resolve in leading a solitary fight for his “best friend” and ensuring justice for her.
Esther had come home to Machilipatnam for Christmas holidays in December 2014 and was headed back to Mumbai, which turned out to be her last journey. When police tried to portray her disappearance as a failed love story, Prasad left for Mumbai to look for his daughter and traced the last signal of Esther’s phone to Bhandup. He looked for her along the EEH and found her body 10 days later. “My daughter blindly believed Sanap and accompanied him after he agreed to drop her home on his bike,” Prasad said. He knocked every possible door to get justice for Esther when Mumbai cops didn’t evince interest. He met then Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and came back empty-handed, but never lost hope. He met Yogendra Yadav, who was in AAP then, and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat.
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