Gujarat: Another rape victim attempts suicide inside court premises

Ahmedabad: A rape victim attempted suicide at the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, alleging ‘delay in justice’. The 26-year-old woman tried to take the extreme step by consuming poison inside the court room of Justice Ashish Desai after Tuesday’s proceedings were adjourned as the accused’s lawyer was on sick leave.  However, Sola police personnel said that it is still unclear as to why she took the step. The victim is unconscious and the cause behind her extreme step is yet to be ascertained, Sola police sub-inspector K M Damor said. The incident goes back to 2008 when a youth Sandip Panchal allegedly raped her in the absence of her husband and also filmed the entire episode to blackmail her. According to the police, the victim lodged a complaint in this regard last year. After the city sessions court granted anticipatory bail to the accused, she moved the Gujarat High Court seeking cancellation of his bail, for which the hearing was adjourned on Tuesday. Unhappy with the constant “delay in court proceedings”, the victim consumed poison in the court room on Tuesday, after which she was rushed to the Sola Civil Hospital, where she is in an unconscious state. Her father-in-law told police officials that it was unclear as to why she took the extreme step, though he admitted her trauma. This is the second such incident in 35 days when a rape victim attempted suicide by consuming poison inside court premises. On January 23, a gangrape victim had attempted suicide by consuming a poison in the premises of the metropolitan court in Ahmedabad, alleging ‘delay’ in justice. PTI