Hyderabad: Rape survivor excels academically despite trauma
Hyderabad: A girl who lived with the trauma of being raped by her 76-year-old neighbour, who she fondly called 'Thatha' (grandfather), overcame all odds and excelled in her studies. Undeterred by the traumatic experience, the girl scored a 10 GPA in the SSC and obtained 90 percent marks in Intermediate examinations. She is currently studying engineering but intends to do her Masters’ degree in a foreign university.
In 2021, the old man, who is a retired Merchant Navy officer, and a distant relative of the girl raped her multiple times within two days. The parents grew suspicious when their daughter missed her periods. She underwent tests which revealed that she was 24 weeks pregnant. When the parents confronted her, she told that a distant relative raped her when he came to their home. They took her to the police station and filed a complaint against the accused person.
She was then taken to Bharosa centre, where she told the staff that she was sexually assaulted by their old neighbour ‘Thatha’ two days before her relative violated her.
Later, the Telangana High Court heard the matter and permitted the girl to undergo a C-section. Following the medical procedure, the girl delivered a child and the DNA analysis of the samples collected from the newborn indicated that the 76-year-old neighbour was the child’s biological father.
According to investigators, both the accused claimed in the court that they were being implicated in false cases due to family and property disputes, however, they could not produce any evidence to support their arguments. The victim was also questioned by the counsels who represented the rapists during the trial.
Eventually, the old neighbour was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for the remainder of his life by an Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge of Nampally court while the court sentenced the girl’s distant relative to undergo 20 years rigorous imprisonment. The court also imposed a Rs. 10,000 fine on each of the convicts.