Agartala: The 8-year old daughter of the Rangapania village rape victim, Antara, has been virtually orphaned for the last 20 days after her mother was taken to an unknown destination for her safety whereas her father landed in jail for his involvement in the rape incident.
Antara is the eye-witness of the torture met out to her mother by a group of people, including women, on December 17 last with the indulgence of her father Samir Kar.
Antara has been promoted to Class III with good marks but she does not dare to go to school or meet her friends due to fear of being attacked.
Antara’s mother was gang-raped in Rangapania village of Bishalgarh in western Tripura and later stripped naked , tied to a tree and beaten up brutally.
“There is nobody now to take care of her even as her maternal family runs from pillar to post to get justice for her mother,” said Rekha Sarkar, neighbour of the victim’s family.
“Criminals are also threatening them (the maternal family) regularly,” she added.
“My father was not at home when the miscreants attacked my mother. I informed the police in nearby camp and she was rescued but after returning home my father again tortured my mother,” rued Antara adding that her mother registered a formal case with the police two days after the incident.
Meanwhile, a local court of Bishalgarh on Friday sent nine of the 11 prime accused to police custody for another 14 days. Two others were still absconding.
Regular police patrolling continues in Rangapania as tension ceases to fade in the area. The MMS of the clippings of the incident is still being circulated among the villagers and outsiders.
The victim has been shifted from the village and kept in an unidentified location for her safety and the daughter could not see her mother.
The victim had alleged that her husband had mobilised the youths to outrage her modesty as she had refused to bring dowry money from her parents.
Police report stated that victim got married with Samir Kar some nine years ago.
“I was being tortured by my husband and in-laws after my marriage for dowry even though I had brought more than Rs 2 lakh from my parents on different occasions over the years.
“After giving birth to a girl child they (the in-laws) intensified the torture on me and my baby as they did not want girl,” the victim said to the police.
She, however, mentioned that recently she had been objecting to their demands and assaults that made her husband angry and subsequently he orchestrated the gangrape.
Earlier, the police said that the accused dragged the housewife from her home and took turns to rape her before many people, including women. But no one dared to come forward to save the mother of the eight-year-old.
Tripura Woman’s Commission chairperson Purnima Roy had strongly condemned the atrocious incident and asked the police to take stern action against the culprits.
People also organised a protest rally at Bishalgarh over the incident which shook the State at a time when the gangrape of a 23-year old medical student in New Delhi had shook the nation and galvanised people to take to the streets in protest against the heinous crime.
While things are on track, as far as trials of the accused are concerned, in the New delhi case, much is yet to be done back in Tripura. (Agencies)