HOW HE LIVES, FIGHTS FOR HER
Through all the ups and downs of the case, Mithu, who never remarried, stood like a rock. Jassi, he says, is the love of his life.
“She loved me more than I can say. I remember every moment spent in her company. She left her riches to be with a poor man like me. How can I forget it?” he asks.
His family and friends tried to get him married again but he remained resolute. “When I cannot give Jassi’s place to anyone, why should I marry?” he says.
It hasn’t been an easy fight for justice. He was allegedly framed in more than five cases, including one of rape registered against him in 2004. But the complainant changed her statement, and accused Jassi’s family of pressuring her to frame Mithu in the case.
“I was framed in a rape case, drug recovery and three more such cases. My younger brother, who is in Dubai, was also framed in a case of theft of motorcycle,” recalls Mithu.
He claims Jassi’s family also tried to strike a compromise with him. “In 2012, I was offered 14 acres of land and Rs 1 crore through an MLA, but I refused it. How can I accept it? How can I sell Jassi’s love like this? They kept quiet when I ask them why they killed my Jassi. I am poor but what Jassi gave me was more than any treasure. The only wish I have now is to see her mother and uncle behind bars,” says Mithu, who is a member of the village panchayat for the last 12 years.
But such is the fear of Jassi’s family that ever since the news regarding their extradition appeared in the media, Mithu and his mother have gone into hiding.
“Every time media highlights the issue, I am booked in false cases. I am avoiding coming home till the two arrive in India,” says Mithu, who met HT at a friend’s house.