The traumatized father of the physiotherapy student who was a victim of one of India’s most brutal and gruesome gang-rape cases has announced that he wants his daughter named. Prior to this, because of the nature of the case, the Indian media (and therefore worldwide media) has refrained from naming her.
Furthermore, the Indian law forbids revealing of the name of a rape victim unless her family agrees to it.
But her 53-year-old father, Badri Singh Pandey, thinks otherwise. He reportedly told “The Sunday People”, the Daily Mirror’s Sunday edition:
We want the world to know her real name. My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself. I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter.
(Source)
The newspaper then posted his picture with his name. It then revealed the victim’s name, saying it had the permission of the father. In the past few weeks, the media has only addressed her as Nirbhaya, Damini, Amaanat, or Braveheart. It’s about time the world gives her that much dignity and addresses her by her real name:
Jyoti Singh Pandey.
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She died in Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on 28th December 2012, two weeks after being beaten and gang-raped on a moving bus in New Delhi . She was only 23 years old.
(Source)
Meanwhile, three of the five men accused of the case will plead not guilty to the charges, their lawyer said on Wednesday. Manohar Lal Sharma, who will represent the bus driver and the main accused, his brother and another man, said the case must go to trial so that the evidence police have presented can be tested in court.
“We are only hearing what the police are saying. This is manipulated evidence. It’s all on the basis of hearsay and presumption”, said Sharma.
(Souce)
More to come as the story unfolds.
