By IANS,
Hyderabad : A college student in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district Friday started an indefinite hunger strike demanding justice from a policeman who allegedly failed to fulfil his promise to marry her.
Razia Sultana, 18, began an indefinite fast in front of the office of Guntur district superintendent of police in Guntur town, demanding that senior police officials intervene to make sub-inspector of police Ranganath Goud marry her.
She alleged that the police officials were not taking any steps to either arrest Goud or convince him to marry her though she lodged a complaint against him two weeks ago.
The B Pharmacy student alleged that Goud, a sub-inspector in Ponnuru police station sexually exploited her by promising to marry her and was now trying to marry another girl.
Women organisations have also come out in support of Razia. More than a dozen women activists were seen sitting with the girl in front of the SP’s office.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had Thursday directed the Guntur police not to arrest the sub-inspector till Monday. The court was dealing with a petition filed by him seeking a direction to quash the criminal proceedings against him.
The police had registered a case against the policeman based on a complaint lodged by Razia Sultana alleging that he had cheated her after promising to marry her.
Earlier, a lower court dismissed an anticipatory bail petition filed on behalf of the policeman.
Goud disappeared after he was suspended by the senior police officials following Razia’s allegation that he developed physical relationship with her with the promise of marrying her.
On her complaint, the police registered a case of sexual assault, cheating and criminal intimidation against the sub-inspector.
The police had decided to conduct DNA tests on both the SI and the girl but she refused to undergo DNA tests until she meets Goud.
Meanwhile, Guntur district Superintendent of Police S.B. Bagchi denied that the police was trying to protect the sub-inspector. He told reporters that the sub inspector had refused to marry Razia. “We will file an affidavit in the high court to get the stay vacated. We are also seeking legal opinion to prepare a foolproof case against the sub-inspector,” he said.