Victim’s little cousin has a lifelong regret

ALIGANJ(ETAH): The eight-year-old cousin of the rape-cum-murder victim in Keltha village is yet to come to terms with what happened to her cousin with whom she daily went to school.

It was this child who revealed about the accused (a cook hired for a tilak function in the neighbourhood), as she saw him taking away her cousin. Her revelation, though too late to save her cousin, led to the arrest of Pintu Kumar, 25.

“Both sisters were playing together on the roof during the function when the accused called the victim downstairs to fetch water. The nine- year-old victim brought a glass of water but the accused, heavily drunk, covered her face with his hand, took her to the backyard and disappeared towards the fields in darkness,” said a relative of the victim.

The eight-year-old girl had no idea where her sister was being taken and she came down and went to sleep. The family members began searching when the victim was not found . Later, her body was recovered from an open field about 100 metres from the backyard.

The eight-year-old girl woke up when she heard the elders crying and came to know about the death of her cousin. At this juncture, she told the family that

IT WAS THIS CHILD WHO REVEALED ABOUT THE ACCUSED AS SHE SAW HIM TAKING AWAY HER COUSIN. HER REVELATION, THOUGH TOO LATE TO SAVE HER COUSIN, LED TO THE ARREST OF PINTU KUMAR, 25.

Pintu Kumar had taken the victim along.

The little girl, who did not eat a morsel all day on Friday, cried at the very mention of the incident. She regretted why she went to sleep as she could have narrated about the accused earlier. But she said that she had no idea such a thing would happen.

The victim’s mother was disconsolate and kept running towards the spot where her daughter’s body was found. The victim, who had three elder brothers, was much loved, being the only daughter and youngest of all.

On Friday, with most of the men going to Kampil, a town on the banks of river Ganga for the last rites, the village wore a deserted look. Relatives occasionally dropped in for condolence but the silence was broken by the crying of the victim’s mother.