Lucknow: When the 18-year-old rape survivor stepped out of her home at 1:30 pm Monday, she had no inkling that it would be her last. Four hours later, she lay lifeless in a pool of blood, brutally hacked by the elder brother of her alleged rapist.
The attacker, Ashok Nishad, allegedly attacked her with an axe, nearly dismembering her head. Ashok had earlier been to jail for allegedly eliminating his friend in the same gruesome way in September 2017, the police said.
“The accused had threatened her not to tell anyone about the rape, but she told me about it. She was brave and wanted justice. The villagers wanted us to settle the matter and compromise, but she did not want to do it,” the teenager’s disabled father, who is in his late fifties, told ThePrint Wednesday.
Ever since she had filed a rape case against Ashok’s brother Pawan, who stayed barely 10 meters away, she was under pressure to “compromise” and “withdraw the case”. In fact, the family had given a written complaint to the Kaushambi district police chief’s about the “threats” in February.
The tragedy-struck family lives in a thatched hut which can be reached after negotiating the kuccha roads of the village. The disabled father, who works as a farm labourer, sat on a heap of hay as he recalled the ordeal.
According to the FIR lodged in May 2022 under Section 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult and provocation to breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the POCSO Act, Pawan barged into the house in the absence of her father on May 13 last year and raped her. Before leaving, he had allegedly threatened her to keep quiet.
Three days later, she told her ordeal to her father who angrily went to confront Pawan’s family. “The entire family abused him and drove him out of the house,” reads a copy of the FIR in possession with ThePrint.
Though Pawan was arrested and jailed, the family claimed that the pressure to withdraw the case increased after he came out on bail in October.
“On Monday (20 November), Ashok along with Pawan and younger brothers Prabhu and Lokchandra were standing on the terrace of their house. Ashok was leading them in abusing her and family and were issuing death threats,” the victim’s younger sister said.
The family has also made another allegation against the police, saying that the rape survivor’s age was mentioned as 19 years to project her as an adult, in the FIR lodged Monday at the Mahewaghat police station against Ashok and his three younger brothers.
On late Wednesday, a team of Kaushambi police shot Ashok in the leg near Ramnagar floodplains. Kaushambi SP Brijesh Kumar Srivastava told the media that a special operations group (SOG) team and personnel from other police stations reached the area after receiving inputs of Ashok’s presence.
“During combing, police came face to face with Ashok and his associate Gulab who shot at the police party. Police fired in defence and three bullets hit Ashok. His associate, too, was arrested. Two country-made pistols and cartridges were recovered from the accused along with the axe used in the woman’s killing. The other accused are absconding,” he said.
Though two arrests were made, the family lives under constant fear. “The police did not take action at the right time. Had they taken cognisance of my sister-in-law’s complaint, she would have been alive today. We are living under fear as Pawan has eight brothers. The other accused, including Pawan, Prabhu and Lokchandra, have still not been arrested,” the deceased’s sister-in-law said.
Her husband and the victim’s elder brother alleged that the killing was planned. “Ashok’s parents and their younger brothers had fled the spot before the incident. They had been planning to kill my sister ever since Pawan was released on bail,” he said.
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‘Approached police several times’
“My sister would get death threats from the accused’s family. She and my father had informed the Mahewaghat police station two-three times about the threat to their lives. In February 2023, a written complaint was given to the Kaushambi SP’s office,” her younger sister told ThePrint.
In that complaint, the rape survivor had accused Pawan and his brothers Prem, Brijlal and Ashok of forcing her to compromise and threatening to kill her, her father and elder brother after Pawan’s release from jail.
“My father and my sister would reach the police station and inform the police about it,” her sister said.
After Pawan got bail from the Allahabad High Court and was released from jail last month, the pressure only increased. “They (Ashok and his brothers) were drunk and hurling abuses. They were saying that they would kill my sister and my brother. My father had gone to the field for work. Later, they arrived near the entrance of our house, and all four started issuing threats. They were saying that once my brother comes home, he too will be killed,” the younger sister recalled.
The elder brother and his family stay in Noida. His wife told ThePrint that the woman called her up to inform them about the threats and then they decided to approach the Mahewaghat police.
“I was in Beragipur when she called me. She had recorded a video of the accused and sent it to me. I asked her to come to the police station where I joined her. We met a lady police constable and a sub-inspector. She urged them to accompany us because of the threat to our lives. The SI, however, said that it was an old case; that we should return home; and that a police officer would visit to talk to both the sides in the evening,” she said.
The two returned home around 4:30 pm only to find Ashok, Pawan and others allegedly waiting with sticks, spades and an axe in their hands. “When we reached near our house. I saw Ashok approach us from behind. He was armed with an axe while the others were standing holding sticks and a spade. I fled towards a different side to save myself, but he attacked. He first attacked her on the back and snatched her phone. He then targeted repeatedly at her throat and other parts of the body,” the sister-in-law said.
The younger sister, who was in the verandah, rushed near the entrance to help the rape survivor but Ashok chased her. “He ran after me to kill me, but I ran inside a house. Two ladies from our neighbourhood saved me,” she told ThePrint.
No end to threatening
While the macabre killing was taking place outside, the sister-in-law called a relative who is posted as a home guard in the Rajapur police station of Kaushambi.
“He informed the police which arrived at the spot only after an hour. The attack took place at 4:30 pm; the police arrived around 5:30 pm. I called the ambulance service on 108 helpline several times, but was informed that they don’t pick up a dead body,” she said.
The family members allege that while the other brothers fled, Ashok remained at the murder spot for some time. “He stayed for minutes after my sister’s death. Villagers told me that he continued to shout that he won’t surrender (before police) before he kills me, too. We have been informed that he dumped her phone in the Yamuna flowing nearby,” the elder brother told ThePrint.
Kaushambi police have denied the allegation of reaching the spot late. Srivastava told ThePrint that the police reached shortly after the incident and that he himself reached the spot 40 minutes after the killing.
Meanwhile, the woman’s family has alleged that while she was 18 years old, police asked them to mention her age as 19 years in the FIR lodged Monday. In a video statement issued Monday, Srivastava had identified her as a 20-year-old.
“I had told the police that my sister was 18, but the police asked us to write 19,” the younger sister told ThePrint.
Manjhanpur circle officer Abhishek Singh told ThePrint the age was mentioned according to what locals had told them as the police could not verify any certificate when the FIR was lodged. “If the age is different, it will become a part of investigation,” he said.
“Investigation is on in the incident at a higher level, and action will be taken if negligence is found at the level of the police station,” he said, regarding the complaint made to the mahila help desk.
ThePrint tried to reach ADG (Prayagraj) Bhanu Bhasker and IG (Prayagraj) Chandra Prakash seeking information about the inquiry that was initiated into the role of the local police whom the rape survivor and her family were allegedly been approaching in connection with the threat to her life.
Speaking to ThePrint, public relation officer of IG (Prayagraj) Rajendra Tiwari said that an inquiry has been initiated by the ADG in the role of police officers which is being conducted by the Kaushambi SP. “A report is awaited,” he said.
While Bhasker could not be reached, his public relation officer said that he was “not available for a comment.”
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‘Accused had killed friend for dowry’
On the face of it, Ashok had a history of violence as he had allegedly hacked his friend, Paltu, to death. He was put in jail, but was not convicted in the case.
Paltu’s brother Suggi Lal told ThePrint that the marriage of the duo was fixed with two sisters from a village in Sesa area of Chitrakoot’s Mau tehsil. “The elder sister’s match was fixed with my brother, while Ashok was to marry the younger one. However, Ashok was demanding a car from the girl’s family. The family was poor and had five girls. They refused and Ashok started pressuring my brother to demand a car as well. My brother refused and Ashok threatened to kill him,” he alleged.
Suggi Lal recounted that on 5 September 2017, Paltu left the house around 5 pm informing their mother that Ashok called him. “I called him at 7 pm when he told me that he was sitting with Ashok. His phone was found switched off soon and we got worried. Two days later, my brother’s body was found dumped in the bushes in a wheat field,” he said.
“We were trying to locate our brother when I noticed that some dogs had gathered near a field. When I saw the bushes, I found my brother bludgeoned to death. He had been attacked with an axe multiple times.”
A villager, who saw the rape survivor’s body, said that it was a horrendous sight. “He has repeated this twice. It seems he has become used to such gruesome killings. I saw him leave with the axe,” he said.
Same pattern in other case
Paltu’s mother Shivkali Devi told ThePrint that Ashok’s family, especially his father, had been pressuring them to withdraw the case. “His father would pressurise us to withdraw the case and offered Rs.50,000 for it. We said we would not compromise. I am already poor and have lost my son,” she said.
Fed up with the threats, Shivkali claimed she had stopped working in a primary school near the village where she worked as a mid-day meal cook. “Ever since he came out on bail in 2019, the pressure has increased,” she alleged.
Manish Kumar Mishra, an advocate from Tiwari Ka Purwa village, told ThePrint that on 15 January, Ashok and his friend intercepted him to pressurise him to broker a compromise with Paltu’s family.
“He told me that he is not scared of any pandit or thakur, and started abusing. I told him that I am a pandit and that he should not abuse everyone. He told me to leave the spot, or else he would kill me. I immediately started a bike belonging to Arjun (a friend) and left the spot but he kept chasing for minutes,” he said.
Later, the advocate lodged an FIR in the Mahewaghat police station under Sections 504 (intentional insult and provocation to breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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