Tribal woman alleges she was sexually exploited by two top police officials from Jharkhand who are now trying to defame her

Jharkhand rape victim fights heavy odds

Tribal woman alleges she was sexually exploited by two top police officials from Jharkhand who are now trying to defame her

What are the odds that a tribal woman from an underdeveloped state would succeed in a battle for justice against two top police officials? Exactly. But Sushma Badaik is prepared to bet on the fairness of the Indian judicial system.

Tough task: Sushma (right) says the state adminsitration and even
sections of the media are working against her. Pic/Shazid Chauhan

Badaik is engaged in a legal contest with the then DIG and IG of Jharkhand, who had allegedly raped her about 5 years ago. The victim broke away from the security cover provided to her and is currently in Delhi to meet President Pratibha Patil. She also met National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Girija Vyas on Monday.

About five years ago, Sushma had made headlines in the infamous 'sex-on-tape' story in which a news channel had captured and telecast Jharkhand Inspector General of Police P S Natarajan in a compromising position with her. Interestingly, Sushma claims Natarajan sexually exploited her assuring he would bring out the truth of her rape allegedly by another top police official Parvez Hayat, the then deputy inspector general of police. She had earlier alleged that Hayat had sexually exploited her promising her a police job.

"I have been fighting against the top brass of the state police for years. Some days ago, I was shocked to read media reports planted by the Jharkhand police that I was a lady don running an illegal arms racket in the state. They had arrested someone who during his interrogations claimed that I was behind the arms racket. I am under police protection round the clock how is it possible for me to run a business like that? The police are making these fake allegations to weaken my case, demoralise me and protect the senior IPS officers," she told MiD DAY.u00a0

During a meeting with Girija Vyas on Monday, Sushma told her that the very same police officials who were posted to protect her were acting as spies for the people she is fighting against. "Some of the mediapersons in connivance with the police are trying to frame me. I do not trust even the cops who claim to be there for my protection. That is why I have run away from Jharkhand and have come to complain against them and the people behind who are hell-bent on framing me. Just because some criminal alleges that I am a gangster does that make me a gangster?" she aked.

Girija Vyas has reportedly assured Sushma that she will ask the home ministry and Jharkhand government to ensure her safety and investigate her case fairly.

Sushma also alleged that Natrajan had offered her Rs 25 lakh to withdraw the case. She claims that as she refused his offer and decided to fight against him, he is conspiring against her. "Jharkhand police is preparing grounds to kill me in a fake encounter. I am in Delhi meeting the people who could help me in getting justice. I am ready for any investigation by any other agencies except Jharkhand police. My case should be transferred to Delhi," she said.

THE BACKGROUND
Natarajan's case dates back to July 31, 2005 when he was caught on tape in a compromising position with 24-year-old Sushma Badaik who later lodged an FIR alleging rape. Acting on her complaint, the state government had placed Natarajan under suspension and the police secured an arrest warrant against him. When Natarajan, an IPS officer of 1975 batch, went into hiding, the police seized his belongings from his Ranchi residence and subsequently filed charges claiming that he had not only accepted sexual favours from Badaik after promising her a job, but also "forcibly raped" her. In his bail petition, Natarajan had claimed that the tape was morphed. He was granted bail in 2006 by the Jharkhand High Court on a surety of Rs 50,000. The scandal surfaced when a news channel flashed CD footage of Natarajan in a compromising position with the woman.

CASE IN POINT
In a recent high-profile case involving former Haryana DGP, S P S Tathore, the local police had allegedly tried to frame Rathore's victim Ruchika Girhotra's brother Ashu in a false case of auto-lifting. Ashu gave his statement in court that he was mercilessly beaten by cops in front of DGP Rathore and on his instructions. He was giving an account of what happened inside the CIA police post in Mansa Devi where he was kept after being picked up by plain clothes men on October 23, 1993. In his statement given before a magistrate, Ashu alleged that DGP Rathore also came at the police station and asked the cops to torture him.
Who was Ruchika?u00a0 She was molested by DGP S P S Rathore after which she committed suicide in 1993. Madhu Parkash, mother of one of Ruchika's friends, had approached the Punjab and Haryana High court in 1997, seeking a probe into the incident after a police report had stated that prima facie there was a case against Rathore. On December 22, 2009, after 19 years, 40 adjournments, and more than 400 hearings, the court finally

pronounced Rathore guilty under Section 354 IPC (molestation) and sentenced him to six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000.CBI had opposed Rathore's plea and had sought an enhancement of his sentence from six months to the maximum of two years after his conviction. Rejecting his appeal against his conviction by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court, Chandigarh District Court on May 25 sentenced the disgraced former police official to one and a half years of rigorous imprisonment, enhancing his earlier six-month sentence and immediately taken into custody and taken to the Burail prison.

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