People were afraid to help us: Delhi gang-rape victim`s friend

New Delhi,
January 5: The
male friend of
the Delhi gang-rape victim - the only
witness in the case - on Friday spoke for
the first time in front of the nation and
exclusively told Zee News that his friend
was “positive” and wanted to live even
after the horrific incident that took place
on the night of December 16.
''I wish I could have saved her,'' the friend
exclusively told Zee News Editor Sudhir
Chaudhary.
The victim’s friend explained to Zee News
in detail what exactly happened on that
fateful night of December 16.
He said that no one came to their help
when they were lying on the road. After
being thrown off the bus, the duo reached
hospital after two to two-and-a-half hours.
The victim’s friend said that since
December 16, protests have been
happening and people are on the streets.
“Many things have come out in the media,
but people have been interpreting it as per
their convenience. I want to tell them
what we faced that night. I want to tell
what I faced, what my friend faced,” he
told Zee News, expressing hope that
people could take a lesson and save others’
lives in future.
He said that the six accused had lured
them into boarding the bus on the night of
December 16.
“The occupants of the bus, which had
tinted windows and curtains, had laid a trap
for us. They were probably involved in
crimes before also. They beat us up, hit us
with an iron rod, snatched our clothes and
belongings and threw us off the bus on a
deserted stretch.
“The bus occupants had everything
planned. Apart from the driver and the
helper, others behaved like they were
passengers. We even paid Rs 20 as fare.
They then started teasing my friend and it
led to a brawl. I beat three of them up but
then the rest of them brought an iron rod
and hit me. Before I fell unconscious, they
took my friend away.
“From where we boarded the bus, they
moved around for nearly two and a half
hours. We were shouting, trying to make
people hear us. But they switched off the
lights of the bus. We tried to resist them.
Even my friend fought with them, she tried
to save me. She tried to dial the police
control room number 100, but the accused
snatched her mobile away,” he said.
“Before throwing us off the bus, they
snatched our mobiles and tore off our
clothes in order to destroy any evidence of
the crime,” he added.
“After throwing us off the bus, they tried to
mow us down but I saved my friend by
pulling her away in the nick of time. We
were without clothes. We tried to stop
passersby. Several auto rickshaws, cars and
bikes slowed down but none stopped for
about 20 to 25 minutes. Then, someone on
patrolling, stopped and called the police,”
he told Zee News.
The victim’s friend rued the fact that three
PCR vans arrived at the scene after about
30 to 45 minutes, but wasted time in
deciding under which police station’s
jurisdiction the case fell.
He said nobody, including the police, gave
them clothes or called an ambulance.
“They were just watching us,” he said,
adding that after repeated requests,
someone gave him a part of a bed sheet to
cover his friend.
“My friend was bleeding profusely; I was
more concerned about her. But instead of
taking us to a nearby hospital, they (police)
took us to a hospital (Safdarjung) that was
far away.”
The victim’s friend said that he carried his
badly injured friend to the PCR van on his
own as “the policemen didn’t help us
because my friend girl was bleeding
profusely and they were probably worried
about their clothes”.
“Nobody from the public helped us. People
were probably afraid that if they helped us,
they would become witnesses to the crime
and would be asked to come to the police
station and court,” he told the channel.
“Even at the hospital, we were made to
wait and I had to literally beg for clothes. I
asked one ‘safai karamchari’ to give me
some clothes or curtains and he asked me
to wait. But the clothes never came. I
then borrowed a stranger’s mobile and
called my relatives, but just told them that
I had met with an accident. My treatment
started only after my relatives came,” he
said.
“I was hit on the head. I was not able to
walk. I was not able to move my hands for
two weeks,” he said, detailing the injuries
he suffered on that horrific night.
“My family wanted to take me to our
native place but I decided to stay in Delhi
in order to help the police. It was only
after the doctors’ advice that I went back
to my home and started private treatment
there.”
“When I had met my friend in the hospital,
she was smiling. She was able to write and
was positive. I never felt that she did not
want to live,” he said.
“She had told me that if I wasn’t there, she
would not have filed the complaint. I had
decided that I would ensure the culprits
are punished,” the victim’s friend said.
He said that his friend was also worried
about the cost of the treatment. “I was
asked to be with her to give her strength.”
“When she gave the first statement to the
lady SDM, only then I came to know what
had happened with her. I couldn’t believe
what they did to her. Even when animals
hunt, they don’t mete out such brutality to
their prey.
“She faced all of this and told the
magistrate that the accused should not be
hanged but burnt to death.”
“The first statement she gave to the SDM
was correct. She had given that statement
with a lot of effort. She was coughing and
bleeding while giving the statement. She
was on ventilator support. There was no
pressure or interference at all. But when
the SDM said that she had faced pressure,
all her (friend’s) efforts went in vain. It is
wrong to say that the statement was made
under pressure,” the victim’s friend told
Zee News.
When asked what suggestions he would
like to give in order to ensure that such
incidents don’t recur, the victim’s friend
said, “The police should always try to
ensure that the victims are taken to the
hospital as early as possible and not waste
precious time looking for government
hospitals. Also, witnesses should not be
harassed so that they come to the court to
testify.”
He said that one cannot change mindsets
by lighting candles. ''You have to help
people on the road when they need help,”
he added.
“Protest and change should not only be for
her but for the coming generations as
well.”
The victim’s friend said that he wanted the
Justice Verma committee - set up by the
government to suggest measures to
improve women’s security - to make the
law easier for complainants.
“I would like to tell Justice JS Verma,
Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramanium
that we have a lot of laws, but the public is
afraid of going to police as they wonder
whether the police will register an FIR or
not. You are trying to start fast-track courts
for one issue, but why shouldn’t every case
be fast tracked,” he said.
He further said that “only he can tell what
he has gone through… what I have faced…”
He disclosed that “no one from the
government has contacted me so far to ask
about my treatment. I have been paying
for my own treatment so far.”
When asked why people don’t want to talk
about such issues in public, the victim’s
friend said, “In our society, we try to hide
such things. If something bad has
happened with us, then we try to hide
thinking what will the other person say.
Also because our friends and relatives talk
behind our back about such incidents, that
we try to prevent them from becoming
public.”
“If I had decided not to file the complaint
and just call the incident an accident, this
case would not have become this big.”
He rued the people’s indifference towards
him and his friend when they were lying on
the road. “They (the people) had cars, they
could have taken us to the hospital. Every
minute was important for us. But they
didn’t. Who will change this attitude?” he
asked.
He said his mental condition was so bad
after the incident that he was not able to
sleep properly. “I didn’t share this with
anyone. When such a thing happens to us,
we often ask ourselves: ‘Am I to blame for
this? Why did I go to the mall? Why did I
board that bus?’ I was not able to even
speak properly for two weeks.”
He said that if his friend was “treated in a
better hospital, she would have probably
been alive today.” It may be noted that
the gang-rape victim was first treated at
the Safdarjung Hospital before being
shifted to a hospital in Singapore, where
she passed away.
He went on to say that one of the police
officials wanted him to say that the police
were doing a good job in the case.
“Why did they want to take credit for doing
their duty? If everyone does their work
well, nothing more needs to be said in the
matter,” he said.
''We have a long battle to fight,'' he said
further, adding, “If I didn't have lawyers in
my family, I would not have been able to
fight this.”
The victim’s friend also told Zee News, ''I
was in the police station for four days
rather than being in a hospital where I
would be treated. I told my friends that I
had met with an accident.''
''The internal judgement of the Delhi Police
should prompt them to assess for
themselves if they have done a good job or
not,'' he added.
''If you can help someone, help them. If a
single person had helped me that night,
things would have been different. There is
no need to close Metro stations and stop
the public from expressing themselves.
People should be allowed to have faith in
the system,'' he went on to say.
''I never had thoughts of leaving her and
running away. Even an animal would not do
that. I have no regrets. But I wish I could
have done something to help her.''
“She has awakened us. If we can carry on
this fight with her name, it would be
tribute to her,” he said.