Rape victim seeks justice

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Bus stands after nightfall have become the stalking grounds for cops on heat, it appears. The latest is the tragedy of Vasanthi, 27, who lives in Periyakulam with her coolie husband.

She has alleged she was raped by two policemen at Kadamalaikundu station about 20 km from Theni and was locked up in jail for a month on false theft charge.

“I have been silenced by the threats of punishment from the policemen, but now I have decided to come out and demand justice. I was subjected to this inhuman brutality on February 11 night and after that, was locked up in the Nilakottai jail for 23 days charged with a theft that I did not commit”, Vasanthi told Deccan Chronicle.

Recalling the incident, she said she had gone to Nariyuthu to redeem some articles that she had pledged with relatives. “My relatives were not available, so I decided to return home and went to the bus stand.

Two policemen on motorbike forced me into an auto and took me to the station saying I must answer questions about the money in my bag.

At the station, I pleaded for mercy saying the money was meant to redeem my articles, but they hit me.
And then, the inspector raped me, followed by a policeman”, said Vasanthi before breaking down.

“I had my three-year-old son who started to cry. A policeman took him out. I cried saying I was menstruating but the policemen went ahead and raped me. I fainted. The next morning, they made me wipe the blood on the floor with my clothes.

They brought a doctor who gave me an injection and I was produced before a magistrate who sent me to jail for theft”, she said.

She has now petitioned the chief minister, state director general of police and other authorities seeking justice.

“The police threatened her and her husband, so they kept mum. Now they have gained some courage”, said her lawyer Thavamani.

Theni superintendent of police Praveen Kumar Abhinapu stoutly denied the rape charge. According to him, Vasanthi had assaulted a 50-year-old woman at Nariyuthu and taken away her gold
chain.

“Even so, we have launched an investigation now into this rape allegation”, he told DC.
An inspector was placed under suspension a few months back after he allegedly raped a girl after abducting her as she waited with her boyfriend at the Tiruchy bus stand late night.