Maimed Dalit girl's father appeals to Mayawati

No girl should be allowed to undergo the pain suffered by my daughter who was maimed for resisting a rape attempt, the father of the 16-year-old victim from Uttar Pradesh said on Monday.

In an appeal to UP Chief Minister Mayawati, Badlu Ram pleaded for justice and stringent punishment to the guilty so that it could act as a deterrent for other wrong-doers in future. "Bhenji Mayawatiji, please ensure justice to my daughter so that what has happened with her today, does not happen with anyone else tomorrow. Please see the culprit gets strict punishment. We are from a poor, Dalit family and plead for justice," he said.

The girl was seriously injured when three men chopped off her nose, ear and a part of her hand after she resisted a rape attempt in Bindaki area in Fatehpur district. The men -- Shivom, Hari Shanker and Pawan – forcibly dragged her when she had gone out for some work in a field and tried to rape her on Saturday.

According to Superintendent of Police Ram Bharose, the girl was attacked when she resisted the rape attempt. She was rushed to the Fatehpur district hospital from where she was referred to a hospital in Kanpur in a serious condition.

The girl suffered a dozen deep gashes on her face, head and hand and the injuries were inflicted with some sharp weapon, doctors attending on her said. She has undergone a major surgery performed by a team of orthopaedic, dental and plastic surgeons.

A sobbing Badlu Ram told PTI outside the hospital Intensive Care Unit that he belongs to a very poor family. "I make both ends meet with great difficulty. She is my only daughter and student of Std XI in an inter-college for women. As she is good in studies, I presented her a bicycle to attend cl-asses," he said.

Ram recalled that on Saturday, the men attacked her when she thwarted their attempt to rape her. First, one of them caught hold of her and gagged her. Then others pounced on her and attacked her with an axe.

The girl's mother could not control her tears when she said, "My humble prayer is my only daughter should be saved. I want her to complete her education and get married. I am illiterate, but want her to be educated."

Meanwhile, Shivom, 25, the main accused in the case was arrested on Monday in Fatehpur and the axe used in the incident has been recovered, the SP told reporters. This is the second arrest in the case after Harishanker was nabbed on Sunday and the third accused, Ram Ratan, is still absconding.