‘I remember how my face was blackened, head tonsured’: A year on, Shahdara gangrape victim is scared, but resilient

On January 26 last year, the woman was kidnapped from her house, gangraped, tonsured and publicly shamed with a garland of shoes around her neck for more than an hour even as bystanders made videos of the incident.

A total of 21 persons, including 16 adults and five minors, were taken into custody and a 762-page chargesheet was filed in April last year, stating that the crime was committed with the intention of “killing the victim” and “taking revenge for the death of their relative”.

The relative of the accused, a teenager, had allegedly proposed to the woman, and committed suicide on November 12, 2021, because she rejected his advances. His family members and neighbours had blamed the woman for his death.

A day after the minor’s death, the victim along with her husband had approached police regarding threats from his family and neighbours. However, senior police officers had said the accused couldn’t be contacted at the time and the couple were told to live somewhere else.

The woman currently lives with her husband, who works as a hotel attendant, her toddler son, and her in-laws in another area. She comes to her paternal home in Shahdara once a week to meet her younger sister. Her father died last month of sustained illness.

“I enter the house from another lane now as taking the front lane brings back horrific memories,” she said, adding that she wears a face mask and covers her head with her scarf so that no one can identify her in the area.

She said that even her son has faint memories of the incident. “He saw me being paraded and shamed… sometimes, when he sees my hair, he tells me that he remembers that I was tonsured.”

Her sister, an eyewitness to the incident, said that she never wishes to see anyone go through a similar fate as her sister. “It’s been a year but how can one forget the incident… The scars always remain. My sister, who was once a jolly person, now barely remains a shadow of herself,” she said.

The sister had also approached police six days before the incident regarding the threats she was receiving from the accused and seeking police protection. A separate case was lodged later.

Legal ordeal

The 21-year-old said that over the year, she has become emotionally stronger. “Court visits were initially difficult; I used to break down as relatives of the accused would call me names outside the courtroom and tried to break me so that I would give a wrong statement… but now I put up a brave face and have become immune to their taunts.”

All the five minors and the owner of the auto, who helped aid the kidnapping and was also named in the chargesheet for destroying evidence, have been granted bail. “Some of the juveniles still live in the vicinity but whenever I see them, I take the other route,” she said.

Initially, after the incident, the victim said that she was frightened and had lost faith. “After coming back to my in-laws’ house from the rescue home, I stayed inside my room for several days and didn’t talk to anyone… my family gave me hope to fight back. Once all the accused were arrested, I realised that only the courts can serve me justice,” she said.

After the legal proceedings are over, the 21-year-old plans to move away from the city with her family. “There is nothing left here. I have lost everything after that incident and it is better to start afresh,” she said.

Advocate Tej Pratap Singh, who is representing the victim, said the charges against all the accused were framed in November and evidence is currently being examined in the case.