Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh:
An eight-year-old girl in Pathari Haveli village in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha was raped in March last year. The family of the victim filed an FIR and soon the accused was arrested. But he allegedly got a fake ID proof made and got bail in no time. The accused since then is free and is living in the same village. If this was not traumatic enough for the victim, the relatives of the accused and a district-level BJP leader Shyam Sundar Sharma has been allegedly pressuring them to take back the FIR.
"BJP's district-level leader Shyam Sunder Sharma has been threatening us to take back the FIR against the accused. In this regard I had written to the chief minister, the letter came to the police station but no action has been taken till now," the victim's father told NDTV.
The victim, who used to be a class III student, had to give up her studies and her entire family lives every day fearing for their lives. The family says they tried everything in their capacity to ensure their safety from the BJP leader. They wrote to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan about it and also to the Superintendent of Police. But so far they have got no help at all.
"We have received no complaint from the victim's family that they have been receiving death threats from BJP district-level leader Shyam Sundar Sharma. If the family has submitted a written complaint then he will get it checked. And will provide security to the family and take action against anyone who is troubling them," said Superintendent of Police Dhramendra Choudhary.
After NDTV's intervention the police have assured security to the family. But the family doubts if the police will actually help them. With Madhya Pradesh already infamous for the maximum number of rapes taking place, the ground reality suggests that the lethargic attitude of the administration will only result in encouraging the wrong-doers.