Bail celebration video of Sushil Prajapati felt like reliving trauma, says Ghaziabad rape survivor

GHAZIABAD: Nearly four years after she first met Sushil Prajapati, an “influential man” in her neighbourhood, the law student interning in Meerut court was promised an opportunity to practise under a renowned lawyer in Ghaziabad last year.

In Aug, he called her to his house for a meeting and allegedly spiked a drink that knocked her out, after which he raped her. In the days that followed, it wasn’t just her own trauma that she was dealing with, but various kinds of threats from anonymous callers after she decided to get an FIR filed against Prajapati and went to the police.

“Watching the video of celebrations after he was released was reliving the trauma that I went through, right from the incident to filing the FIR against him. Has he achieved something great that warrants a rousing welcome like this? This shows that he has no remorse. He should be put back behind bars immediately,” the survivor said, adding she fears for her personal safety.

On May 17, as Prajapati, 35, facing trial for drugging and sexually assaulting the LLB student, walked out of Dasna jail on bail, eight months after he was arrested, he received a boisterous welcome from a group of friends. Videos circulating on social media showed a group of men showering him with flowers and carrying him on their shoulders from the prison gates to the main road. The accused also travelled in a convoy to Muradnagar via DME.

The survivor told TOI on Wednesday that she had to “think a hundred times before filing the complaint because of the immense pressure and fear”. “But as a law student then, I believed remaining silent would be wrong. If educated people and future lawyers do not report such crimes, then how will victims ever feel safe enough to seek justice?” she said.

The public celebration that greeted Prajapati’s release has deepened the survivor’s fear for herself and her family. “The way he was openly paraded with garlands shows how influential he is. I am scared. My family has advised me not to step out for a few days,” she said.

The woman, who lost both parents while still in school, lives with her siblings at a paternal uncle’s home. It was her uncle, she said, who encouraged her to pursue law and funded her education at a Meerut university. “We have already been through a very difficult childhood. After this incident, I have lost trust in people I meet in professional spaces,” she said.

She added that she has not yet been summoned for trial proceedings since Prajapati’s arrest. “I have been trying hard to move forward. But once that video circulated, all the traumatic memories came rushing back. I thought that after spending time in jail, he would at least feel remorseful. Instead, he is celebrating as though he has won something.”