All I could do was write

This is the story of a situation we were faced with some time back.

It's about a small business owner who runs a retail outlet in front of a ladies hostel of a reputed engineering college. She has been facing physical and mental torture for the past three years by a man who initiated family relations but had altogether different intentions in his mind. The victim is a widow, with two kids, an old mother and a non-supportive brother.

It all began when he saw her at the market-place buying stuff from the whole seller to run her shop. He approached her through a common contact and told her about his wealthy family and offered help in case she needed. She declined the help he offered, but he continued maintaining contact calling her like his own sister. He found our about her whereabouts and where she lived and brought his wife along with his son to her place to encourage family contacts which she could not refuse owing to persuasions of his wife. With time, he started making advances towards her which she complained to his wife. His wife assured her she would stop him, but it never happened. In the meanwhile, he started visiting her at odd hours in the night creating disturbances and breaking stuff in and outside her house. The neighbours got irritated and held her responsible. Instead of helping her, they asked her to leave the place and move somewhere else. They were perhaps scared of his political connections and did not want any trouble for their families. But where could she possibly go? It was the only dwelling she had. She endured and kept appealing to his wife to put an end to this as she thought herself close to his wife. But it didn't happen. Finally she appealed to the police. The police took her lightly at first, saying why she didn't approach them earlier. So she appealed to the local media. The next time he broke her door she called the media persons and they caught him red-handed. The police was also called and that was when they took some action and put him in the lock-up. He was granted bail soon owing to help from his contacts. As soon as he got bail, he attacked her and threatened to kill her child.

This man has been sexually abusing, physically torturing, and blackmailing her for quite a long time. Off late the assault has increased to such an extent that made her attempt suicide many a times. He has been intimidating her by means of physical assault at her home at odd hours in the night. She has been raped a number of times in front of her own son. She has been hospitalized a number of times, during which she could not run her shop, leading to severe financial problems. He is not scared of showcasing his brutality even in public. She is not able to stay at her own home, and has fled to a friend's place.

Finally an NGO was approached. It was by chance that a prominent local political leader could be contacted and he raised the matter to his party to which the abuser was also associated. They pressurised him to lay low and not spoil the image of the party. He has stopped for now, but it remains to be seen what happens after the elections scheduled in a couple of months.