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| A picture of Rakhi, with the mark around her neck, taken after she was discharged from hospital |
Siliguri, Aug. 13: “I want them behind bars for what they have done to me. I will not settle for anything less than that,” said 21-year-old Rakhi Sarkar of Rajgung, the brown eyes reflecting nothing but hatred and anger.
On November 19 last year, Rakhi’s in-laws allegedly tried to kill her after sedating her. When she woke up on November 22, Rakhi found herself in hospital, her neck hurting. There was a mark around her neck.
She was told that she had attempted suicide but had survived. Doctors advised her to abort her foetus because it would not be a “normal one”.
“All I can remember of that night is that my mother-in-law offered me some medicine. They had earlier taken me to a psychiatric. When I woke up, my relatives and in-laws at the hospital were comforting me as if I had done something very wrong. Then I was told that I had tried to commit suicide, which was not true,” Rakhi recounted at press meet at the Family Counselling Centre today.
“My in-laws left no stone unturned to prove that I was insane and had attempted to kill myself. They wanted money and I was victimised,” she said.
Rakhi belonged to an affluent peasant family from Sarian village in Rajgung in Jalpaiguri and was married to Kanu alias Ranjan Pal, a resident of Deshbandhupara, Siliguri in 2000.
Trouble started the minute she stepped into the Pal household.
“They used to insist that I get money from my father. I used to be beaten up by everyone in the family, including my father-in-law and mother-in-law. They used to abuse my parents whenever they dropped in. When I protested one day, they hit me so hard that I lost a tooth,” she said.
An FIR was filed with the Siliguri police by the girl’s parents.
“After I could sit up on the hospital bed, I came to know from my parents that my in-laws had told them I was suffering from some mental disorder. It was then that I persuaded my parents to lodge an FIR,” she said.
“Now, I have pinned my hopes on the administration for justice. I have resumed my studies and would like to lead an independent life in future but I want justice,” said a determined Rakhi.
According to sources, five of her in-laws were chargesheeted on February 28 this year, but were released on bail.
Asked about the case, a senior police official said: “It is not possible to say anything about the case without having a look at the files.”
The family counselling centre has taken up her case and is trying to hire a lawyer for her.