Nagpur:
An eerie silence engulfs Shantinagar in Nagpur. Crowding outside a small shanty, locals try to calm down the only cry that cuts across the silence - that of a mother's rage. Breaking down, she says, "Do you think my daughter can live a normal life after what has happened to her? She demands an eye for an eye."
She adds, "He should be castrated."
Seema (name changed) narrated the horrific incident, "School tests are on and therefore my daughter left early that day to study in school. I was sleeping; she informed her grandmother and left around 6.30 am."
"Later I received a call from the school around 8 am asking me to send my husband as somebody had slapped my daughter. After some time a peon came and told that the principal sir wants to see me , my girl is inconsolable When I went there she kept on saying he thrashed me and confided that she is witnessing some pain in her private parts. Later she was taken to a hospital where she was tested positive for rape," Seema said.
"I am shattered. Stringent punishment should be awarded to the culprit, "she adds.
Her husband, a vendor by profession, shares the same anger. "The culprit should be hanged," he says.
But both the parents say they still have confidence in the school and would continue sending their child to there.
Seema, however adds, "I won't send my kids alone; will escort them to the school."
"The school should have increased its security arrangements like fencing the compound walls, employing more guards," the girl's father says.
"Girls aren't safe in our country. First it happened in Delhi, now to my child", he adds The traumatised parents are surprised by the dedication shown by the braveheart towards her studies ,
"My girl is traumatised but she still wants to go to the school. She wants to give her exams", Seema says as tears roll down her cheeks. Composing herself she adds, " I won't let her down.We will take care of her and she will study."