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But her mother, Parvati, is enraged. Says she, “This is not the first time that something like this happened. In fact, he first tried to molest her when she was just 10. I have five children – three girls and two boys. Jyoti is the eldest. One night, I awoke to find Sundaraj atop Jyoti.

“It upset me a lot, but at that moment I said nothing. I wanted to wring his neck for what he was doing to her, but I could not muster up the courage. All this time, I’ve been too scared of him because he beats me up black and blue. Last week, I had stitches on my head – he had hit me with a stone.

“In the morning, I asked Jyoti what had happened and she told me the truth. She also said that he had done this often. After that, I became very cautious and would accompany her wherever she went, even to the toilet”.

Helpless against the physical violence, Parvati did what she thought best in the circumstances. Since she works as a ragpicker to supplement the family income, she began taking Jyoti with her on her rounds. But then policing one’s own husband 24 hours a day is not always possible. The defense does slip, like it did sometime back.

Says Parvati, who cannot forgive herself for failing to protect her daughter, “I have always been so careful about not leaving Jyoti with her father. But one day, I don’t know how, I asked her to go and ask him for some money to buy vegetables”.

Jyoti went with her younger sister to the tempo that Sundaraj drives, a little distance from their house. And, according to Parvati, became a victim again. Parvati alleges that “Sundaraj made the younger sister sit in the tempo, took Jyoti on his cycle to a lonely spot and raped her.

“When Jyoti told me about it, I was shattered. When Sundaraj returned home, I did not say a word to him, but I was obviously upset. Sensing my anger, for no apparent reason, he started beating me. Every time I showed my anger without saying a word, he’d hit me”.

In fact, Sundaraj’s alleged extortion of his daughter’s right to sexual security was well known to all. Says Parvati, “My neighbours knew about this, so did my relatives. I would tell them to talk sense into him, but to no avail”.

Meanwhile, as Jyoti grew older, her father became more possessive of her. He would not allow her to spend nights out at relatives’ places. Says Parvati, “Once, I sent her away to her paternal uncle’s home for a few days. But Sundaraj got so upset that he beat me up. He said that his daughter should not spend the night anywhere except at her own home. Or she would grow into a woman of loose morals. But what about his morals? What gave him the right to gratify himself with his own daughter”?

As Sundaraj’s alleged incestuous assault continued, Parvati watched helplessly, frightened of being thrashed. She did not take recourse to the law because she was financially dependent on him. “I was afraid that if I complained to the police, I would be unable to feed my children on my income alone. But it was becoming unbearable to see my child being abused in this manner. So many times, I have actually tried to strangle him, but…”

What allegedly happened last Tuesday afternoon was the last straw. “It was too much. I was at home as I was unwell. Unfortunately that day, I had not accompanied Jyoti to the new job she had taken up as a domestic maid. At around 12 noon, Jyoti came home crying. One look at her pale face and I knew what had happened.

“She told me that when she was returning from work, she met her father on the street. He asked her to accompany him. When she refused, he hit her and took her to a lonely spot. Then he stripped her and once again raped her. When she resisted, he hit her and held her mouth. When she came home she was bleeding.”

Lying on her hospital bed, Jyoti has yet to realise that her father did not just beat her into submission. Says she, “I am very scared of him. He hit me so much when I told him I wanted to go.” Parvati adds, “She does not even know what happened to her. All she can feel is the physical pain. She is too young to even realise what rape implies.”

But Parvati, who had put up with this for two years, finally did what she should have done two years ago. When her husband returned at 1.30 p.m. that same day, she did not show that she knew anything. “I deliberately kept my cool, I knew that if I got angry then he’d either start beating me or go away to his village near Aurangabad.” But she had had enough. “I decided I would take the matter to the police. Even if we have to starve, I will make sure he pays for his crimes. If I did not do something, he would repeat this with my other daughters as well.” The next day, Parvati went to the Bhosari Police Station and lodged a complaint against Sundaraj.

The police arrested Sundaraj and sent Jyoti for a medical examination to Sassoon. “I will manage somehow on my income, but I will never let my children suffer anymore. Jyoti’s life is ruined now, who will marry her, but at least she does not have to suffer anymore”.