Little girl abused by grandpa, mother fights against father

November 19, 2012

little_girl_abused

Bangalore, November 19: Once a playful child, seven-year-old Shrija is now quiet. She talks only to her mother Smitha, 32, and counsellors. The child was five when her maternal grandfather sexually abused her for over a year when her mother used to go to work.

Life has never been the same for Smitha, a teacher, ever since she found out the truth. Kinship for her is now fraught with minefields. For, she is waging a war against her parents and siblings to protect the life and rights of her daughter.

"I am a single mother and had been staying with my parents for over three years. Shrija was a very talkative and playful child but she suddenly stopped talking or interacting with anyone about six-seven months back. She just wanted to move out of my parents' house. I asked her the reason but she did not open up. One day, I slowly gained her confidence, and she broke down. She told me that 'grandpa is touching me down' (private parts)," Smitha says.

But a bigger shock was in store for Smitha when she found out that her mother knew about her father's crime but kept quiet. Her elder brother and sister refused to stand by her, saying it will tarnish the family's reputation.

"I had no option but to go to the police against my father and family. I reached the police station around 2pm that day but my FIR was registered only at 10pm. The officials 'tried to convince' me that I must not bring out my family matter in public and sort out the issue at home. But I stood by my daughter and lodged the FIR," she says.

Her family went absconding and there has been no progress in the case for over four months now. "Had I not been supported by volunteers and counsellors of Enfold Trust, I would not have been able to fight this battle. Shrija is slowly coming to terms with the outrage and is now going out to play with friends. But she has become far too mature for her age," she says.

(Names have been changed to protect identity)

QUOTE

I just want to tell all parents that they must fight for their children's rights and educate them about such sexual and physical abuse."

Smitha |mother

Child abusers thrive on

stigma haunting victims

A group of women are fighting to spread awareness against child sexual abuse

Hetal Vyas


Bangalore: Molestation or sexual abuse of children does not even find a mention as a category of crime in the records maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).


In 2011, Karnataka reported only 334 cases of crime against children. In India, 33,098 cases of crime against children were registered last year of which 21.5% were rape of minor girls and about 70% were of abduction and ransom, according to NCRB data.


The biggest hurdle to fighting child sexual abuse in India is the social stigma of reporting the case. "The mother will have to face repercussions for reporting. Also, there are no good laws, policies, training in government-run departments. A minor undergoes enormous trauma if she/he comes into the open against the abuse," activist Gitanjali Gupta said.


Gitanjali and Ritu Reaves, who moved to Bangalore from the US, are working with Dr Shaibya Saldanha, founder, Enfold Trust, to promote awareness on child sexual abuse. They are deploying their networking skills and using social media to spread the word.


But there is hope as the law is being provided with some teeth to protect child victims. Said Dr Saldanha: "The Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Bill 2011 is a big step towards fighting cases of child sexual abuse. The biggest advantage of this bill is that the accused will have to prove his/her innocence and the victim will not have to prove her/his allegation."


The bill also makes it mandatory for a person dealing with such cases like a doctor, parent or counsellor to report it to the police.



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Agencies
January 16,2020

Cuttack, Jan 16: At least 15 passengers were injured as five coaches of the Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Lokmanya Tilak Express derailed and three more were displaced after colliding with a goods train amid heavy fog near Cuttack in Odisha on Thursday, railway officials said.

Railway officials had earlier said that 25 passengers were injured in the incident but later officers who reached the site reported that four passengers were found to have suffered major injuries and 11 had received minor injuries.

Passengers with major injuries have been sent to Cuttack Medical College. All passengers are stated to be out of danger.

Officials said the accident happened when the passenger train hit the guard van of a good train around 7 am between Salagaon and Nergundi stations.

The officials said there was heavy fog at the site but it was not clear what led to the accident. The speedometer of both the trains have been seized for inquiry, East Coast Railway Spokesperson J P Mishra said.

Buses have been arranged for all remaining passengers to move towards their destination.

Cuttack is around 10-12 km away and Bhubaneswar(Terminating station) is 35 km.

The accident disrupted train services in the area.

Five trains have been affected due to the accident where restoration work in underway. These include the Bhubaneswar-Mumbai LTT SF Express, the Puri-Rourkela Express, Dhanbad-Bhubaneshwar Rajyarani Express which have all been diverted via Naraj.

"East Coast Railway acknowledges with deep gratitude help of nearby locals and villagers who have displayed great humanitarian values and come to the rescue of injured passengers," Mishra said.

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News Network
June 25,2020

Jun 25: A 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide at her house in east Delhi and her family members secretly buried her body, which was later exhumed for post-mortem, police said on Wednesday.

The girl, whose family hails from Jharkhand, allegedly hanged herself in a room in her house on Monday, they said.

No suicide note was recovered from the spot, police said.

Her body was exhumed on Tuesday as per the directions of the Sub Divisional Magistrate of the area. The process was carried out as her family members secretly buried her without informing the police.

The post-mortem will be conducted after Covid-19 tests, police said.

The incident took place on Monday. The reason behind her taking the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, they said.

Police said the girl lived with her mother and two siblings. The family hails from Jharkhand and are financially extremely weak. Her father died two years ago, they said.

After the father’s death, the girl's mother along with her siblings took her body to a burial ground and buried her, police said.

The police said the matter came to their notice after a neighbour alerted them about it. Following the information the body was exhumed, they said.

On questioning the girl's mother, she told police that she didn't know that one has to inform police in a suicide case, a senior police officer said.

Inquest proceedings have been initiated, police said.

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Agencies
May 14,2020

Six migrant workers have been killed and five others seriously injured when a speeding bus ran over them on the Delhi-Saharanpur Highway near in Muzaffarnagar, officials said on Thursday.

The accused driver, who was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, has been arrested, said SSP Abhishek Yadav.

The workers were going on foot to their homes in Bihar from Haryana when they were hit on the Delhi-Saharanpur Highway between Ghalili Check Post and Rohana Toll Plaza, about 20 km from here late last night, the official said.

The injured -- Sushil, Nathu Saini, Pawan Saini, Pramod and Ramji Rai --were rushed to hospital.

Two of the deceased were identified as Bijender, 25, and Harsh, 20. The rest were yet to be identified.

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