‘I will become an IAS officer and give justice to all’

I want to become an IAS officer to help distraught people like me and get them justicerdquo vowed a 15yearold girl who was raped for six years She is now helping her mother raise money to fight her ldquorapistrsquosrdquo acquittal in the high court While she is taking home tuition her mother has started tailoring despite her lower back and spinal issues The mother has blamed the police for the acquittal of Sumit Yashwant Lanke the accused saying they botched up the investigationThe family lived in Kurla when the incident happened The girl was five when Lanke allegedly raped her and the sexual assault went on until she turned 11 in 2018 said her mother ldquoLanke who was 24 years old then is the son of a close family friend who were my parentsrsquo neighbour in Kurla On the pretext of playing with her Lanke would force her to watch porn videos on his mobile phone and raped and sodomised her for almost six yearsrdquo she addedThe threatsLanke would threaten her with a blade if she resisted she said ldquoOne day there was no one to play with me so I was crying in the lane near my house He accosted me and offered chocolates and toys Later he took me to a room bolted the door from inside and raped mehelliprdquo recalled the survivor while talking to middayThe survivor teaches students while her mother stitches clothes at their house PicSameer MarkandeldquoThis continued for several years but I could not understand what was happening One day we had a class of lsquogood touch and bad touchrsquo in my school and I realised I was being abused I used to tie a rakhi on his wrist every year The next time I protested but he threatened to kill my maternal uncle and sexually abuse my cousinrdquo she addedThe incident came to light when her maternal uncle noticed an SMS delivery report on the mobile phone of the survivorrsquos grandfather who does not know how to send messages After a brief enquiry he learnt that the text was sent to Lanke ldquoAfter she narrated her ordeal to me I approached Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station on September 18 2018 and registered a complaint against Lankerdquo said the motherOn learning about his release from jail the family moved to an undisclosed location in Thane district as they are ldquoliving in fearrdquo ldquoI never wanted my daughter to see the accusedrdquo the mother said adding that she has been so traumatised that she canrsquot sleep alone at night ldquoShe cannot even go out alone She needs someone with her But I am happy that she is confident to achieve something in life She is a fighterrdquoldquoShe had slipped into depression If we talk to her about the incident she goes silent Sometimes she tries to injure herself by scratching her body with her nails She would initially tell me that lsquomai gandi ho gyi hursquo but I told her lsquonot you Lanke is gandarsquordquo said the motherldquoI have to handle my daughter with extra carerdquo she added Despite all odds the girl has not lost her interest in studies and is among the top three rankers in her class ldquoI love reading and teaching studentsrdquo she said Recalling the proceedings she said ldquoMany people including police and people in courtroom asked me nnumber of questions about the incident I replied with details but whatrsquos the use if the accused is acquitted Still I will fight backhellip I am not going to give uprdquoThe mother said ldquoI have learnt that the rapistrsquos relatives gave him a grand welcome after he was released from jail My daughter is fighting to get justice but the criminal is enjoying a grand welcome This is the travesty of justicerdquo She alleged that he was acquitted because of his advocate unclersquos influencelsquoLegal cost too highrsquoldquoI contacted many lawyers to challenge the verdict in the high court but the legal expenditure is too high I canrsquot bear the cost at present but I can surely save money and then approach a good lawyer who can help us get the justicerdquo said the mother She said the police initially helped them but ldquolater the investigating officer SubInspector Nikita Narne became lenient as the matter reached the courtrdquo ldquoI am wondering why the police were so lenient in gathering strong pieces of evidence in the case How can a dreaded criminal be acquittedrdquolsquoBotchedup probersquoldquoA complete botchedup investigation led to his acquittal If not Lanke then who raped my daughterrdquo she asked Narne said ldquoI investigated the case and arrested the accused immediately and he remained in jail till the time he was acquitted There was no lax in the investigationrdquo She added ldquoThere was a difference in the statement of the girl and the mother complainant in the case The mother said the accused showed the girl porn videos when he raped her but the girl didnrsquot tell us anything as suchrdquo ldquoAfter a few days the case was handed over to Inspector Ravindra Pawar who filed the chargesheet I have no clue what happened afterrdquo said Narne who is now posted at Sion police station ldquoI canrsquot recall anything about the case as it is too old I will have to refer the case files before making any commentrdquo said PawarA timeline of events in the case2012 Year the girl was first rapedDec 2017 When she was last rapedSept 2018 When police filed an FIRAugust 2021 When deposition of witnesses for prosecution started and the motherrsquos statement was recordedNov 30 2021 Day special judge under POCSO Act Priti Kumar Ghule acquitted the accused24 yrsAge of the accused at the time of the incident