No age is safe for woman: Voiceless cry of anguish

If she could, she would probably have sobbed, howled and described her ordeal to her mother. But the three-year-old, who was raped by a kin on Holi, cannot even do this, for she is too small to express herself coherently, and is obviously, in too much pain.

Trusting an uncle for a chocolate turned the Holi celebration into a nightmare for her in just a few minutes and the wait for relief and a normal life, is likely to be a long one.

Lying on a bed with other kids of her age in a ward of the King George’s Medical University here, the girl now demands a rattle and her favourite doll her father had bought her some time back. But she plays with them only with her right hand, as the left hand has an intravenous cannula inserted to give doses of various injectable medicines.

For this little girl, pain is a part of life, at least for now.

Even doctors admit that it must be immense pain that kept her attention away from toys for the past four days.

Her mother, sitting beside her on a stool, does not cry. She smiles and plays with the child, putting up a brave front. But ask her and she says with tearful eyes, “Kya usko fansi hogi?” (Will the criminal be hanged).

The mother is full of agony and anger as her daughter, the first of her two kids, was raped and the accused was none other than a close relative – the little girl’s uncle. He lured her with a toffee to a secluded place and then gruesomely injured and raped her.

“Almost twice or thrice a week he used to meet us, play with my daughter and gift her toffees . I could never imagine he would do this to us,” said the mother, who runs the household on the salary her husband gets as a contractual guard at a flood pumping station in the city.

The girl went missing during Holi festivity and those hours when they were searching for her on roads and in lanes, were the most horrifying for the parents. “A little girl like ours cannot even find her way back home if she is lost. And she was left in the bushes in such a bad condition after being sexually assaulted,” said the appalled mother.

“He (the accused) had taken a bath after committing the crime and was resting in his house when we went to his place while searching for our daughter. Neighbours had told us that he had taken the girl as usual. He straightaway said that he dropped her back home,” she said.

KGMU’s children ward. (HT)

For hours, the family and neighbours looked for the girl and even searched near the bushes where she was spotted by a neighbour later in the evening. “She must have been in such pain that she could not even cry and that is why we could not spot her even after passing the place,” she said .

MAJOR SURGERIES

Doctors say they conducted one major surgery to make an artificial stool passage way. This was done as the wall between the rectum and vagina was broken during the assault on the little girl. Now two more major surgeries remain to be done that will take place at a gap of 60 and 45 days. “She might need over 4 months to get normal body functions back,” said Prof SN Kureel, the treating surgeon at the King George’s Medical University.

TEARS FALL INTO THE DAL

Though the mother always keeps a smiling countenance before the little girl, often tears roll down her cheeks into the dal (cereal) she feeds the little girl. She hasn’t left her little daughter at all, feeding her and ensuring medicines are given on time and no stranger comes near her.

More than the lady constable provided to guard the girl, the mother plays the role of a cop. She allows only people in apron (part of the doctors’ and medical staff dress) to come near the girl and touch her for treatment or medication. Relatives are kept out of the ward. While the parents stay beside the girl, her younger brother (second child of the couple) plays outside the ward, unaware of what his parents and sister are going through, as he is too young to understand anything.

PRIORITY IS THE GIRL

For the parents, the priority is the girl and her treatment. Both the parents stay with her day and night. The father is unable to work but he says treatment is the top priority.

With an FIR lodged and investigation going on, the parents hope they will get justice.

Such cases are becoming routine.

Gruesome sexual assault on minors, particularly those below 10 years of age, is increasing. Records with the KGMU reveal 12 such cases were brought for treatment here in 2017.

In 2018, this was the first such case. Doctors say rehabilitation is a big question before such children and the family too, which might not be able to afford the expense of counselling once the treatment is complete.