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On January 16, the body of 23-year-old Esther Anuhya was found, badly decomposed and burnt near a Mumbai highway. Just 12 days before that, the software professional had boarded a train from her family home in Andhra Pradesh to return to her job in Mumbai. Her father, S Jonathan Prasad, discusses his unimaginable loss and the ordeal of trying to ensure that those responsible for Esther's murder are found and punished.)
The word 'soon' has no meaning. It's been 20 days. I don't know when we will get justice or if we'll get justice at all. They must have got something from the crime scene. I am not happy. I want them to find the culprits.
I met Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde yesterday but he did not assure me of anything. He just sent a letter to the Maharashtra Home Minister with a few lines. I broke down in front of him and he simply did not even console me. I was not happy at all. I feel let down.
Esther hosted a Christmas dinner for the family. She was really, really happy. She loved Japanese and Korean movies. She would often learn new words in Japanese and would tell me their meaning. She really liked chicken biryani. I miss her too much. Whenever she called and her mother picked up she always asked, 'Where is daddy?' She shared everything with me. I was her best friend.
Thrice a week we chatted, skyped. She got her hair straightened and showed it to me on Skype. It cost a lot of money (the hair straightening) but she was happy, so I was happy.
Before I arrived in Mumbai, our relatives went to the police and they refused to register a case. They said there was no evidence that Esther had reached Mumbai. They didn't believe us. They rang me up and said "File an FIR in Vijayawada not Mumbai. Your daughter was last seen there." They said they won't do anything unless we proved she reached Mumbai. I then came to Mumbai with the FIR (from Vijayawada) to the Kurla police station.
Esther last spoke to me from the train after crossing Sholapur. She said a friend had met her at the Secunderabad station and brought her lunch. She said she was going to sleep and would call in the morning. She also said she had looked around and found a plug point to charge her laptop and her phone. Her laptop has still not been found.
She wanted to go to Germany for further studies. I told her she could go after marriage. "Don't settle down there... if you are not well... how will we reach you?" I told her.
I met Yogendra Yadav of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today and he spoke to AAP leaders in Mumbai and assured me that they would do something. I was very disappointed after meeting Mr Shinde. And that's why I went to AAP. I also spoke to the CPM's Brinda Karat. She showed a lot of concern. She was very shocked.
I don't know where this country is going. Nobody should go through what I went through. Local politicians (from Andhra Pradesh) were very helpful and supporting. Particularly Mr K Narayana Rao (MP, Machilipatnam) and his brother Jagannadha Rao. They are also my family friends.
Four-five people from my native place followed me to Mumbai. I don't know what I would have done without their support. But now what to do?
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