Rapist marries victim in Orissa jail
Posted by 498A_Crusader on May 26, 2007
Bhubaneswar, May 26: In what may be a case of repentance or an easy way to get out of jail, a man in an Orissa prison has tied the knot with the young woman he raped.
Naukunj Sandha, 23, who has been in jail since the March 23 rape, married Munnu Bhuyan inside the Jharsuguda sub jail Wednesday, a police officer said. The families of both the bride and groom attended.
The marriage was solemnised by an official, A.B. Khatei, in the presence of jail superintendent P.N. Bag and P. Nageswari, lawyer for the accused.
“What I did was wrong,” a lawyer quoted Naukunj as saying after the ceremony. “Now I am happy to get a chance to make amends.”
Bhuyan, who looked happy, said she was ready to forgive her tormentor.
“For the time of rape I hated him. I wanted to tear him to pieces. But I have a different feeling now. I have forgiven him because he has chosen me as his wife,” she said.
On March 23, Naukunj, who was a crane operator in Easter Power and Steel Ltd at Lehendapur, was visiting Kantapali to attend a marriage where he raped the 21-year-old.
Later, Naukunj’s relatives and his advocate approached the girl with a proposal to marry him. With help from legal counselors, the two agreed to marry.
“The marriage was solemnized inside the jail and attended by parents of the boy and girl. While the bride left for her in-laws’ house, the groom remained in the jail,” said Nageswari.
A prison official said: “All this is part of our policies of reforms and rehabilitation.” Following the marriage, a bail petition has been moved to free Naukunj.
IANS
source : Rapist marries victim in Orissa jail
