

Surat: Beaten, branded, raped and forced into prostitution, a 37-year-old woman finally managed to escape from her house in Varachha after undergoing the torture allegedly inflicted by none other than her jobless diamond polisher husband for four years.

On Wednesday, Varachha police booked the woman's husband Suresh Patel, her brother Raj and Surendra's two friends Bharat Butani and Tejas and few others. They have been booked for rape, criminal intimidation and other sections.

Police said Suresh, who was earning Rs 25,000 a month, lost his job four years ago when the diamond unit owner laid off many workers because of fast dwindling business.

"After losing his job, he pushed me into flesh trade to earn money. When I sought my elder brother's help, he too asked me to keep mum to avoid social stigma. I continued suffering the torture but it became unbearable," the woman told TOI.

Hasmukh Raiyani, a social worker who took her to the police station, said, "Her condition was pitiable. Fearing social stigma, her close relatives also turned their back on her."

Suresh, she said in the complaint, regularly called his friends Bharat and Tejas as clients as they were moneyed.

"When I refused, I was thrashed and even branded with an iron rod," the woman alleged, adding Suresh called his clients when the couple's 13-year-old son went to school.

VA Patel, inspector, Varachha police station, said, "Since the woman alleges that she is being raped since four years, we need to investigate in detail before making any arrest. Her brother is also not supporting her and she is being helped by some NGOs."

Though a one-off horror tale, the crime is a cruel fall out of the joblessness in the Rs 80,000 crore diamond industry that is reeling under severe slowdown due to falling demand and a series of defaults.

Last year alone, five cases of suicides by diamond workers were reported in the city while at least 50 had ended lives in 2013-14.

Social scientists blame such acts by men to the economic crisis and compulsions that have resulted in severe erosion of family values.

"The financial crisis and high costs of living in cities has forced people to shed the traditional values of not pushing women into flesh trade," said Gaurang Jani, social scientist.

Kiran Desai, researcher at Surat-based Centre for Social Studies, said, "Though this is an exceptional case, it is fact that there is no job security in diamond and textile industries. Workers in these two sectors are highly vulnerable."

(Some names have been changed to protect woman's identity)



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