UP woman reports rape by family members after 28 years; FIR filed

New Delhi: A woman from Uttar Pradesh has come forward nearly 28 years after the incident to report her sexual assault as a seven-year-old child by male members of her stepfather's family. She is the wife of a former Army officer, 35, told police that the assaults continued until she was 19 years old.Based on her complaint, a FIR has been filed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The woman claimed that initially the police refused to file a FIR, then she has to approached the SSP, the National Commission for Women, and the Chief Minister's grievance redressal portal. Finally the FIR has been registered under the Indian Penal Code sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation).

As stated in the FIR, one of the woman's step-uncles raped her for the first time when she was seven years old. She claimed she told her mother about the entire incident and complained of stomach pain. "But my mother gave me some medicine and asked me to keep quiet." Then a second step-uncle raped her, and the cycle continued.

The woman claimed that she was raped frequently at various locations until she was 19 years old. She quotes, "After that, I tried my best to stop them as much as I could. They could not rape me but still outraged my modesty."

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She got married in January 2011, Even after that whenever she used to go visit her mother they tried to rape her. "After marriage, they tried to rape me whenever I went home to meet my mother but I resisted," she added.

The woman, a mother of two minor girls, stated that she was unable to cope with the mental trauma and eventually told her husband about it. She said, "He supported me and encouraged me to fight against my exploitation."

"On April 11 this year, my husband took me to my step-father`s house to talk about the matter. When he narrated my horror story, he was beaten up. My mother supported them and did not trust me. Over the past four months, we have been trying to register an FIR. But now I have the support of my husband and will fight for justice till the last breath," she added. House Officer Savita Dwivedi of the women's police station said that, "The woman has filed a detailed complaint. All the aspects of the case are being probed.

(Inputs from Agencies)