DNA Exclusive: Saga of a son to get justice for his mother raped 26 years ago

New Delhi: A day after the hullabaloo around celebrating International Women's Day settled, the issue of safety and security of women has once again taken center stage. Even as the nation held seminars, gave bouquets to women, distributed gifts, prizes for women power but it did not change the status of women.

On Tuesday, Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary spoke about the struggles of women and how no woman can get her right until she first shows courage. The report is from Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur where a rape survivor broke her silence after 26 years to file an FIR against the perpetrators.

The incident took place in 1994 when the survivor was barely 12 years old. Two brothers Naqi Hasan, 25, and Guddu, 22, who lived in the neighborhood repeatedly raped her for a period of one year. She became pregnant, as she was too young to undergo abortion she had to give birth, but fearing slander the child was given up for adoption to another family.

The woman got married later at the age of 20 but somehow her husband got to know of her past and he filed for divorce. On the other hand, the victim's son who grew up in an adoptive family was sent back to his mother at the age of 11.

He kept asking for answers but his mother kept him in the dark, finally in 2020 the mother revealed the truth about the rape incident. The son pledged to fight against the injustice and prepared his mother for the fight. The woman lodged an FIR with the police for the rights of her son to determine who was the father of child.

However, it was not easy to get the case registered after 26 years. For six months her pleas were not heard and then eventually the Shahjahanpur district court acted on a plea and ordered for a case to be filed.

On February 12, 2021, the court ordered a case to be registered after which the FIR has filed on March 4.

The police has so far questioned one of the accused in the case. The second accused is yet to be questioned. After the woman's complaint, the DNA test of the son and both the accused will be conducted. So that it can be concluded who is the real father and the accused can be punished.

In this case, a DNA test can become the biggest basis. If the father-son relationship is established, then this case will proceed.

A case has been registered under Section 376 (2) of the Indian Penal Code under which the accused can be sentenced to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

Now it remains to be seen whether the accused will be punished and what will be the quantum of punishment.