'He can't attack any girl any more'

NEW DELHI: With Shiv Kumar Yadav being sentenced to life in prison for the rape he committed in December 2014, there is some sense of closure for a family that has had a traumatic 11 months after the incident. The Uber taxi driver's victim, a 25-year-old woman executive, has since married and set up home abroad, leaving behind the bitter memories and the eternal regret of her parents at not being able to organise a grand wedding for their only daughter.
When the survivor got married in May, the family invited only a few relatives, a far cry from the grand nuptials that the parents had planned for their daughter, but they are happy that she has now adjusted to life anew in the US and had recovered enough to call the family on learning about the driver's sentencing. "Had this accident not happened, the wedding would definitely have been different," says the father, who betrays his sensitiveness to the crime by using the word 'accident' for it.
After the fast-track court judge Kaveri Baweja put Yadav behind bars for the rest of his life less than a year after the heinous crime, there is a palpable lightness in the victim's house. The mother, who would otherwise not talk about the case, smiled when TOI met the family and confessed that she had wanted to slap Yadav after the verdict. "He thought that like earlier, he could get away this time too, but my daughter made sure that he will not repeat the crime against any other girl," she said.
She recalled with some pride the "strong girl" who had asked her not to close the door behind her when she reached home on December 5 last year, saying that the police would be there soon. "Like any middle class woman, I was startled when I heard this and asked her why," the mother recollected. "But my daughter first made me take my medicines and then narrated what had happened. I was crying and asked her to inform her father, but she said she would handle the situation herself."
The family was in for a shock early the next morning when a relative phoned to enquire "whether things were okay with the daughter". That was when they realised that others knew about the sordid episode. "The media divulged too many details though they did not mention her name, and this made our relatives and neighbours sense what had happened," said the father. Then began an awkward period when people either stopped talking to them altogether or hesitated to do so. "I had to initiate conversations and chat with relatives and friends as if nothing had occurred," he added. Over time, things became better, though they couldn't prevent people from gossiping when the wedding was announced.
The woman's parents are grateful to their son-in-law, who ran a call centre in Delhi, for not calling off the wedding. "I am obliged that his family showed courage in remaining by our side," the father said. He plans to visit his daughter's family in the US in January. "They are contented and settled now and our family is happy after a long time," he said, while disclosing that he and his wife too are planning to migrate to the US next year.