She stepped outside the train in
Mumbai on 2nd May, 2016, with dreams in her eyes and a smile on her
face. No, she hadn’t gone to Mumbai to become a model or a Bollywood star. She
knew her worth and she was much more than that. Out of the 15,000 applicants
who had applied for the Government job, Preeti Rathi was one of the fortunate
500 who were selected to be appointed as a nurse at the INHS Asvini Hospital.
However, as we all know that the
future is unpredictable; Preeti too couldn’t fulfil her dream, even after
working hard and burning the midnight oil. Before she could get a hold of her
happiness, she felt a tap on her shoulder and as soon as she turned to see who
it was, an unidentified person threw sulphuric acid, not just on her , but her
future as well. Her painful screams silenced everyone in shock and injured
every possibility of living a normal life again.
After a series of hearings and
trials, while Preeti kept fighting for her life, it was 1st June,
2016, when the 23 year old took her last breath due to multiple organ failure.
Her only question till her death was that what was her fault? Why was she
awarded such an agonising death sentence with no fault of hers at all?
After months of deep
investigation and inspection, the guilty came into the limelight, Ankur Pawar.
Ankur was Preeti’s neighbour who, unlike her, was considered good for nothing
by his family. Also, he had proposed to her for marriage, but she had firmly
refused. He had been harassing her a lot and had even threatened her to not to
go to Mumbai. However, Preeti never knew that his obsession would turn him into
a psychopath killer.
Though the guilty has been
sentenced to death under charges of Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and
326 B (causing grievous hurt by use of acid), the question still arises that
what wrong had Preeti ever done to be murdered in such a severe manner? Was it
a crime to refuse to marry someone she didn’t like, or was it amiss to work
hard to get a Government job? If she was turning out to be better than Ankur,
was it right for him to destroy her life so that no one ever offers her a job?
Preeti Rathi is one of those
innocent acid attack victims who died an immoral death, with only one question
in her mind that what was her fault. Let’s leave her aside for a minute and
think about every female acid attack victim, who has either survived, with a
destroyed body representing her, or died a horrendous death. What was her
fault?
Another important question
which goes on somewhere in every woman’s mind is that if she says no to a guy
proposing her, should she always live in the fear of him harming her in any
possible way?
Rest in Peace, Preeti.
My Words are with You.
