Madhumita's sister submits to fate

LAKHIMPUR (Misrana): Her eyes swollen and red, voice choking with every word she uttered. She appeared more surrendered than subdued. And shaken. She was completely different from her otherwise fiery self. Her tone was hardly aggressive anymore. Exactly a week since Madhumita was shot, her elder sister Nidhi on Friday appeared more inclined towards destiny than to “fight it out� when this correspondent met her at her native house situated near Misrana police outpost here.
Not willing to talk to the press any more, she seemed to have accepted the fact that Madhumita was no longer alive, her murderers were still at large and the police were hardly inclined to work out the case and send her killers to the gallows.It took some cajoling for her to speak on how Madhumita grew up from a small town girl to lap up the strings of polity at the state capital.
“But all that is over. She has been branded as a woman of easy virtues ... this was not all that she deserved,� Nidhi said venting her agony on all the media hype, which she claimed had brought disrepute to her family. “She was neither pregnant nor did I ever accuse minister Amarmani Tripathi or his wife Madhumani of being involved in the killing of my sister,� said Nidhi questioning the media glare on the involvement of the politician. When asked about the footage of the news channel in which she took Madhumani Tripathi’s name as the person behind the murder, Nidhi shot back, “I had said Madhu mar gayee (Madhu has died) and not Madhumani (name of Amarmani’s wife)�. Her statement this time evidently sounded tutored. And what about the footage then? Nidhi contested, “It was all made up.� By now she was sounding more prepared with the answer.
Explaining the pregnancy issue, Nidhi charged the police with “planting� the foetus when the Madhumita’s body was brought back to the morgue at CSMM University from Sitapur for the second time on the “pretext� of extracting DNA samples. Apparently unaware of the dynamics of DNA sampling, she retracted when it was explained that Madhumita’s DNA can be matched with that of her mother and then with that of the foetus to corroborate if the samples were planted. “Had I known that, I would have got the samples extracted in Sitapur myself,� she said as the expressions on her face changed for a while. Moments later, she sounded again all surrendered, “But nothing will happen ... evidence have already been tampered and hence even the CBI will not be able to do anything if the case is transferred to it.�
When questioned about the call she received on Madhumita’s mobile which she was carrying while at the Mahanagar police station on the night of the murder, Nidhi said: “I do not know the caller ... I just presumed it was someone known to Madhumita and so I yelled back.� At police station Nidhi had shot back at the caller “Ab santosh mil gaya Madhumita ko marwa kar?� (Now you must be satisfied after getting Madhumita murdered).
What had brought this sudden change in the stance of the family members of Madhumita is a question which has compounded the mystery behind the cold-blooded murder of the poetess. Whether it is the fear of a backlash from the highly-connected assailants or a mere compromise with the situation if not a lure?. The question is likely to remain unanswered.