At 13, she was kidnapped, gang-raped and tortured with lit cigarettes. Ten years on, trial will finally begin in the case after a court today rejected an appeal by the man who, along with five others, allegedly sexually assaulted her in Lucknow.
Accepting the juvenile board's decision, a fast-track court today ruled that Gaurav Shukla, the main accused, was not a minor when the crime was committed, which means he will be tried as an adult. But the accused plans to challenge the verdict in a higher court.
Gaurav has remained free all these years and is married. Activist Madhu Garg of AIDWA describes the girl's long and lonely battle for justice. "She was traumatised after the incident, had nightmares and became withdrawn. She dropped out of school due to fear; in fact she had to be accompanied to public places. It was only after a long time that she regained some confidence," said Ms Garg.
"I have fought for ten years and will continue to fight until I get justice," the survivor, now 23, said.
Months after the incident, which came to be known as the "Ashiana rape case" because of the neighbourhood where the girl lived, the juvenile board declared Gaurav Shukla a minor based on his claim in a separate case.
Jalaj Gupta, the lawyer for the rape survivor, said in court that Gaurav used forged school documents to hide his age and his birth certificate proved that he was 18 at the time of the incident.
It took the juvenile board another three years to decide on Gaurav's age and when it did, he challenged the ruling.
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