Stigmatised, victim stayed with rapist cousin for 5 yrs

Woman was kidnapped and taken to Gwalior by her cousin in 2006, where she bore his child; now reveals that she did not come back to parents, as she was ashamed of having been raped

Stigmatised, victim stayed with rapist cousin for 5 yrs

Woman was kidnapped and taken to Gwalior by her cousin in 2006, where she bore his child; now reveals that she did not come back to parents, as she was ashamed of having been raped

In a telling comment on the slur often attached to rape victims, the police rescued a 30-year-old woman from Goregaon who was abducted to Madhya Pradesh five years ago by her cousin, and raped.

Ajay Rameshwar Singh Chauhan had allegedly threatened
Shikha, raped her and forced her to live with him

But because of the stigma attached to rape, she continued living with the accused for five years. When the police rescued her from Gwalior, they discovered that she had borne him a child two years ago.

According to the Dindoshi police, Shikha (name changed) had gone missing from her Goregaon (East) residence in 2006 when she was 25.

Her cousin, identified as Ajay Rameshwar Singh Chauhan, then 20, was also reported missing around the same time. Chauhan, who worked in Shikha's sister's office in Bandra, had allegedly threatened her and forced her to go with him.

He took her to Pune, where they stayed in a guesthouse for a few days, before going to Gwalior. Claiming to be married to her, he rented an apartment there and lived there until August this year, when he left her for another woman. While moving out, he took their two-year-old son with him.

The rescue
Last Tuesday, Shikha's father, who had gone to Gwalior to visit a relative, spotted his daughter. He called up the Mumbai police who, with the help of the Gwalior police, rescued Shikha.
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She was brought to Mumbai on Thurdsay, the same day when Chauhan was traced in Gurgaon, brought to the city and arrested for harassment and causing grievous hurt.

In her statement, Shikha told the police that she endured Chauhan's torture and did not think of contacting or returning to her parents because she was ashamed of having been raped, officials revealed.

She also said that a few months ago, Chauhan left her to marry another woman who he claimed was like his sister.

"After Chauhan left her, the landlord of the Gwalior flat kicked her out as they did not allow single women. The victim then took up a teaching job in the area and did not return to her parents," said Vinay Kakde, senior police inspector of Dindoshi police station. "We will present Chauhan in court on Saturday."