5 of rape victim’s family attempt suicide, 2 die in Haryana

HISAR: About 11 months after the rape of a teenage girl her family entered an unusual suicide pact on Monday morning in Bhari Akbarpur village of Hisar district that led to the death of two and the hospitalization of three members. The 17-year-old victim’s mother and younger sister died from the poison that all of them had and her two younger brothers and father are admitted to PGIMS in Rohtak.
The family put poisonous tablets in a halwa they prepared in the wee hours of Monday. A police officer said that it was quite possible that the three children had no idea what was in the sweet dish when they ate it.
It was not clear why the family took the step almost a year after the rape on Monday though a relative suggested that they were under pressure to locate the girl, who had gone missing. The rape victim has been missing since February this year and a relative said that all of them were under great pressure to produce her in the court, where the trial is pending. The deceased have been identified as the victim’s 35-year-old mother and her 13-year-old sister. The father (42) and two brothers aged 11 and 9 are admitted to the PGIMS in Rohtak.
According to the cops, the girl was raped by a local identified as Rohtash Kumar last year in May. The police had registered a case on May 17 and arrested the accused on May 18, 2012. However, the girl went missing on February 22, 2013, and as the police was not able to trace the girl despite repeated instructions of the local court, it had finally set a deadline and directed the police to produce the girl in court till April 30.
Taking to TOI from his hospital bed the father said: “I felt pressurized due to the repeated visits of the police although I have no information about my daughter. It disturbed my family; and my wife and I decided to end it all. I procured poison on Sunday and then woke up at 3am on Monday. My wife prepared the halwa and then mixed it with the poisonous tablets and we served it to the children and also consumed it ourselves.”
Hisar SSP B Satish Balan said that the police had visited his place after the court issued directions to produce the girl but denied any police pressure on the family.