Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Narendra Kerekadu
Mangalore, Jun 12: Eyes of 15-year-old girl from Lingappayya Kadu in KS Rao Nagar, Mulky, well with tears as she recounts her horrible experience during the last three months. The girl was allegedly raped repeatedly by her own father, with the support of her mother. Both the parents have since been arrested, and remanded to judicial custody.
'No one should ever get such parents. I feel ashamed to admit them as my own father and mother,' says the girl, who was pursuing her education till recently. After bearing with untold miseries and agony of having to live under hellish conditions, the brave girl has mentally prepared herself to fight against all odds through legal and other means. She narrated the tale of her tribulations with the media on Wednesday June 11.
Vittal, who claims to be a leader attached to a Dalit organization in Mulky, had married two women. He had married Harini (alias Revati) from Mangalore about 14 years ago, and through her, got three children - two daughters and a son. Eldest of these two girls has now taken upon herself the task of wriggling out of the unenviable position she finds herself in. Harini, it is said, lent wholehearted support to everything her husband did, including work, love life, his sexual desires, and drinking habit. Morality and good sense had taken backseat in this family.
When Vittal decided to marry another woman, Hilda, five years ago, Harini was by his side, lending support for this act too. Hilda has got two daughters, and she is addicted to liquor. It is said that she used to consume liquor in the company of Harini and Vittal. As soon as Vittal and Harini were arrested, Hilda went missing from her home with children.
After his wives got fully intoxicated, Vittal used to reach to his eldest daughter behind closed doors to satiate his sexual desire, it is gathered. Even when the daughter cried for help, Harini, who used to be in drunken stupor, never came to her help. When the girl sought her help to get out of this shameful situation, Harini is said to have advised her daughter to remain mum, finding no fault with her husband. The girl says that her mother opined that she would soon get used to this situation, and will start seeking sex often from her father in course of time.
The victim was a ninth standard student of a government school in Mangalore, and used to stay in hostel. Since the last one year, Vittal had denied her permission to attend school, presumably to enable him to use her for his carnal desires. It is said that circumstances favoured Vittal when his son recently met with an accident and was admitted into a hospital, as Harini used to stay in the hospital to look after her son. It is said that Vittal used to bring beer and chicken kebabs home, and forced his children to consume liquor. 'My father first used me when I came home from hostel on a month's vacation. After suffering this behaviour for long, I complained to the police with the help of my father's elder sister and neighbours,' the girl said.
'When I told my mother about my decision to approach the police, she supported her husband and beat me up the whole night. She insisted that it was my duty to meet the demands of my father as and when he needs. My mother told that if I become pregnant, we have the option of getting the pregnancy aborted,' the innocent girl explained.
The girl's neighbour, Ayesha, said that her family had earlier decided to stay away from the affairs of the girl's family, as Vittal, who belongs to scheduled caste, used to intimidate others by claiming himself to be a leader of Dalit Sangharsh Samiti. She said that Vittal was in the habit of threatening others of fixing them in various cases in case they tried to stand up against him. She revealed that she decided to side with the girl, on seeing that the victim had mustered enough courage to resist the injustice. Another lady from the village, Zubaida, said that the villagers are now hell bent on ensuring that the family which commits such sins should be driven out of the village.
Vinoda, elder sister of Vittal, who has come to the rescue of the girl and extended moral support to her besides providing shelter, told Daijiworld that her brother would have stooped to this level at the instigation of his wife, Harini, who is a liquor addict. She said she will provide protection and shelter to the girl's siblings too and lend her support for legal struggle against her brother.
The girl no more wants to have anything to do with her parents. Vittal has been arrested on the basis of his minor daughter's complaint, by Mulky police. Harini also stands arrested on charges of assaulting minor daughter and helping her husband to rape the girl. Both of them stand remanded to judicial custody.
A police official revealed that upon his arrest, Vittal had shouted at the police personnel, telling them that he happens to be a Dalit leader, and that he would file defamation cases against them if they try to overpower him. He also said that the accused had threatened to organize protests by his organization against the police.