NAVI MUMBAI: In a story that reaffirms the power of civil society and also the positive role police can play, a rag picker and
rape survivor from Vashi has been given a kiosk from where she can sell milk packets.
The woman, who is 25, survived a gang rape that occurred under the Belapur flyover in 2012. The rapists had also made an attempt on her life. Her courageous testimony has led to the
Thane sessions court sentencing the culprits to death.
When TOI recently interviewed the gutsy woman, she said she was still picking plastic and other waste to earn a living and was sleeping outside Vashi railway station. This prompted senior inspector Sangita Shinde Alphanso of the CBD police station and a few social workers to come to her aid.
“We have given her a certificate proving her identity . It states that the police know her from 2012,“ said Alphanso. “Vashigaon resident Richard Monteiro approached us after reading about her and offered her a job at his newly started Jankalyan milk distribution agency."
On Saturday, Monteiro provided her with a stall so that she can sell milk for two hours in the morning and earn a commission.
Alphanso said the police even offered her a job at the Vashi post office, where she would be required to pick up small parcels, but she seemed unwilling to take it up as she has a walking problem.“We have also facilitated counselling for her so that she may quit her drinking habit," the officer said. The counsellors are Kalpana Chhatre of the Mahila Vikas Mandal, Vashi, and activist Uday Veer Singh.
Author and script writer Rakesh Anand Bakshi, son of lyricist Anand Bakshi, offered the rape survivor a bicycle, but she refused, saying that she won't be able to take care of it since she continued to sleep rough. “It is striking to see her smile and laugh, despite the adversities she has faced in life," said Bakshi. His group Bicycle Angels has so far given 188 free bicycles to the needy.