Rewari gangrape case: Three prime accused convicted, quantum of sentence on Friday

Nishu Phogat, Manish and Pankaj Fauji were convicted on Thursday while five other accused, Teen Dayal, Naveen alias Nicku, Dr Sanjeev, Manjit and Abhishek, were acquitted.

Except for Pankaj, Nishu and Manish, the main accused in the FIR, the remaining five were released on bail.

It was in January this year when the five were already out on bail, the victim’s mother had alleged that her family was boycotted by the village. Virtually living in isolation and confined to her home, the victim and her mother have been under constant police protection. Although there are five policemen deployed at her residence from morning till evening and then five guard the family throughout the night and one policeman accompany the victim and her mother, the mother alleged that whenever she had to go to the court for hearing, the policemen showed reluctance in accompanying her.

“Today also, when the verdict is about to be pronounced, I kept on requesting the policemen sitting outside my house in the village to accompany me to the court. There is always a threat because these accused are extremely powerful and can harm me or my daughter. But, they kept on adopting dilly-dally tactics. Eventually, only one policeman accompanied me to the court,” the victim’s mother told The Indian Express while she was on her way to the court.

Although the state government, after the incident that took place on September 12, 2018, had announced prompt justice to the victim, it took more than three years for the verdict in the case.

Police had registered the FIR against eight accused, on different charges. Chargesheet was filed against eight accused in August 2020.

The victim and her family told The Indian Express that the accused who were out on bail had been threatening her family with dire consequences if they do not withdraw the case. “Ever since that fateful day, we have been living in constant fear while the accused had been freely moving around the village and threatening us, passing remarks at us and even intimidating all those with whom we used to be in touch. We have been totally isolated and confined to our home. We cannot even step out,” the victim’s mother told The Indian Express.

The victim girl, her mother added, “had not been able to step out of the home, on her own, since that day”.

“We are in a constant fear that if she goes out, these people (accused) would attack her,” the victim’s mother added.

It was on September 12, 2018 when the crime took place in neighbouring Mahendragarh district’s jurisdiction. The girl, who is now in the final year of graduation, had then told the police that Pankaj (whom she already knew) and Manish, both residents of her village, met her near Kosli bus stand when she was going to attend her coaching class for competitive exams.

In her statement to the police at that time, the victim had said that “Pankaj and Manish offered her a glass of water, after drinking which she fell unconscious”. She added that the accused took her in a car to a well in the nearby fields and gave her another sedated drink. She further alleged that then the accused took turns to rape her.

The victim’s mother added, “On December 3, National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma too visited our home in the village and assured us that justice shall soon be delivered. She even instructed the police to ensure adequate safety and security for my daughter and our family. But, these people (accused) continue to pass remarks at us and intimidate whoever even tries to get in touch with us.”