She can now finally be free. It has been a long confinement—living in fear—for the minor girl who was brave enough to speak out against Asaram Bapu for having raped her. Five years later, with her life having been put on pause and she could never step out, justice has finally been done. Or has it? Asaram Bapu may be behind bars, but for the rape victim and her family, these five years have been as much of a prison sentence as it has been for the godman.
“What mistake did she do except report a crime?'' asked lawyer Rebecca John. “It is a sad reflection of us as a society if we don't ask these larger questions. She has lived in fear for the past five years.”
Their house was a mini-fortress in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Guarded by the police 24 x 7—the girl lived practically in a bunker—with no access to the outside world. Her mother was her constant guardian. It was impossible for the victim to even step out to buy vegetables. The whole family kept constant vigil, terrified that they would never live to see the end of the case. Her friends disappeared. It was too dangerous to trust anyone. Mobile phone numbers were constantly changed, so that no one could track them. All because she chose to speak the truth about having been raped. It took her three months—and constant going back and forth—to record her statement.
“It is important to point out that even in a high-profile case, it has taken five years to complete the trial,'' says Kamlesh Mishra, a lawyer with Corpus Juris India. “The government ordinance says that it will take six months. This is a reality check.”
The Asaram case isn't significant because it has put away a godman, hopefully for life. But because it has brought to the fore the vulnerability of witnesses. Witnesses have lived with fear and have been threatened and silenced. P.C Solanki, the victim's lawyer, once said jokingly, “The best way to deal with the witness is to shoot them.''
In the two years from when the rape trial began, nine witnesses were attacked. LIC agent Kirpal Singh was shot in Shahjahanpur. Akhil Gupta, the cook and assistant of Asaram, was gunned down in Muffazarnagar and so was another Asaram aide, Amrut Prajapati. Live ammunition wrapped up in a newspaper was sent to the house of Arvind Bajpai, the principal who was to testify in the case.
But it was the attack on Rahul Sachan, in broad daylight, just outside the Jodhpur court after he testified that really shook court officials. And if you were outside the court during a hearing, chances are that court officials would ask you to move away. The supporters of Asaram Bapu were everywhere.
Threats were made to the officers of the court. The investigating officer, Chanchal Mishra, who spent months deposing and recording her statement living out of room in a guest house—as she had been transferred out—found supporters outside her son's school. These supporters were handing out pamphlets on Asaram. The threat was clear: we can get your family.
For Solanki—who still has not let cynicism erode his sense of justice—the case has been his pursuit everyday. And it hasn't been easy. He spent Monday night revising judgements on the quantum of punishment. The victory in the rape case is his to savour now.
Mandira Nayar has covered the Asaram Bapu rape case extensively, right from the aftermath of his arrest to incidents of witnesses being targeted, which highlighted the lack of witness protection programmes in India.