Says ex-girlfriend of the accused who has been arrested on rape charges among others

Dressed in a pair of blue denim and a kurta, 22-year-old Vijaya (name changed) came out of her parents’ room on Saturday afternoon.

After initial reluctance, she said: “I was in an abusive relationship and no girl should allow herself to go through that”.

Looking at the television, Vijaya said that she has asked everyone to keep it off. “I cannot see him on the TV. I have been told that he has raped the girl who is in the video. It hurts me to see him because I loved him but then I remember what he did to me,” she wept.

It was in April last, when the accused, Rohit Tomar, son of Assistant Sub-Inspector Ashok Tomar, had proposed to Vijaya. Introduced through a mutual friend, and several WhatsApp conversations and meetings later, they had fallen in love. “For one year, he was the perfect guy. We had dreamt of a lot of things and also fulfilled some. I was happy as everything was going smooth. I was so happy that I told my mother that we could probably get married,” she said.

This confession was a turning point in her life, she said. Her mother told the brother and father who made an initial enquiry about the accused. They then suggested Vijaya take a step back.

“My family said that his friends are not good. He also drinks regularly which I knew but was okay with. Then I got a bit scared about my future. After thinking for some time, I told him that I wanted to part ways in April-May this year,” she said, adding that they were still in touch until one day when she saw his abusive side.

Vijaya remembered going to a nearby mall to meet her cousin and a friend. She had donned a lip shade paired up with a top and jeans.

Rohit saw her leaving the house and called her immediately. “Rohit accused me that I was going to meet a guy. He called me a prostitute and other expletives which I cannot even utter. That was it for me. I realised that I cannot stay with this guy. If he does not respect me now, he never will,” she said. The next few months, Vijaya ignored him while he became more aggressive. Rohit told her that he had filmed them together without her knowledge and he will “make it viral” if she ignores him.

“I was so scared that I did not share anything with my friends and family. I felt helpless. Once I had shared an incident with a close friend and she told me that I should end contact with him,” the 22-year-old said.

Toxic relationship

On September 11, Vijaya told her mother about the toxic relationship. That day, Rohit had come outside her house.

“I remember that it was 10.36 p.m. and I was in my bed when he called me. I ignored the first call but he called again. I answered the call. He said that if I do not meet him in 5 seconds, he will share the video on the Internet. I ran downstairs,” she said.

The accused allegedly abused her, touched her inappropriately after which she ran home and told her mother. The woman called Rohit’s father who called Vijaya and his son to a nearby park. The accused created a ruckus before Vijaya approached the police and got him arrested.

However, with her parents’ support, she has garnered the strength to fight. “I still cry in front of my parents. For him and because of him. But they understand and stand by me. I would not have fought if my parents had blamed me instead of understanding,” she said, while her mother stood smiling beside her.