The lawyer argued that she still struggled to talk about her experience (performance)
Calcutta:
A 37-year-old woman put her “attacker” behind bars 23 long years after the alleged abuse, after discovering that the accused continues to prey on children.
The woman, now a well-established lawyer in Hong Kong, had filed a complaint in 2019 against her private guardian who she said sexually assaulted her at her Darjeeling home when she was 14. The accused, in his forties, was arrested earlier this month in Siliguri.
“A long way to go, it’s only a small victory. The culprit’s bail application was recently turned down and I am grateful that the police have given strong evidence against him,” he said. she told PTI from Hong Kong.
When asked what had taken her over two decades to come forward and press charges, the woman said she was “scared and confused” and didn’t know how to deal with her trauma.
“It can be very difficult to provide details of a sexual assault, especially after you have buried it in the back of your mind. I decided to file a complaint after finding out that the accused, a teacher from Siliguri, continues to sexually abuse children, “she said.
The lawyer argued that she still struggled to talk about her experience.
“The abuse had spanned a month and the nightmare haunts me so far. I want to prevent other children from going through the trauma,” she said.
Darjeeling (city) Deputy Superintendent of Police Rahul Pandey said police intervened immediately after receiving the complaint and arrested the accused, a schoolteacher from Siliguri, earlier in October.
“We have appropriate evidence against this person. We have spoken to at least four victims and obtained circumstantial evidence. The accused, who teaches chemistry, has moved from school to school. Over the past 20 years , he changed at least five schools, ”Pandey said, adding that he had been remanded until October 23.
The accused “admitted his crime” when evidence was produced before him, the SP said.
He was indicted under various sections of the IPC with contempt of modesty, criminal intimidation and words, gestures or acts intended to insult a woman’s modesty, the officer said.
