CHANDIGARH : Seven years after their mother was gang-raped and four years after her suicide, 12-year-old Nitisha and her brother 11-year-old Himanshu of Panchi Jattan village in Haryana's Sonipat district are still continuing their mother's battle for justice to ensure that the rapists are sent to jail.

Till now, they have approached the local police, the SSP, the IG and sat on a dharna for weeks at the mini-secretariat in Rohtak, demanding the arrest of three accused - Sunny son of Virbhan, a resident of Karhansh (Panipat), Kessa, a resident Seharmalpur (Panipat), and Ranbir, a resident of Jorashi (Panipat). The main accused in the case, Jitender, a resident of Karhansh (Panipat), was arrested by the police in 2009.

Helping the kids in their fight is 45-year-old aunt Sheela. However, this week they received the biggest blow in their life when the Rohtak additional district and sessions judge sentenced their father Sunil to life imprisonment for "murdering" their mother Alka .

Two days after the verdict, they are determined to continue the fight and decided to move the Punjab and Haryana high court against the conviction. The Rohtak court convicted Sunil, 38, on August 6 for poisoning his wife in 2009.

According to Sheela and the children, Alka and Sunil consumed poison at the Rohtak IGP's office on May 6, 2009 after their attempt to meet the top cop and seek justice failed for three days. Alka died at the hospital during treatment and Sunil survived. She had left a suicide note.

Sheela said Alka was gangraped by four persons in 2006 after one of them gave her a lift in a car at Samalakha town in Panipat district. "The gang also made a video clipping and threatened her for one-and-a-half years that they would make the clipping public if she dared to disclose the matter," Sheela said.

When the gang continued blackmailing Alka, she disclosed the matter to her husband and they filed a complaint with the police but the cops refused to register an FIR initially. The FIR was finally registered on June 20, 2008 after the couple approached senior officials.

Sheela alleged that the cops then let off three accused and arrested only one - Jitender, a property dealer. When the couple came to know about it, they tried to meet Rohtak IGP for three days. However, they were not given a hearing by the top police official which forced the couple to take the extreme step, Sheela said. After the suicide bid, both were admitted to PGIMS in Rohtak where Alka died. Her family refused to cremate the body for six days and Sunil was on life support system for several days. Later, Alka's father lodged an FIR against Sunil for killing his daughter. In this case, Sunil was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 6. However, Sheela alleged that Alka's parents were influenced by the accused.

According to Sunil's family, the police did not place the victim's original suicide note in court. It was traced only after the intervention of Punjab and Haryana high court, said Sheela, adding that the same has not been placed on record in Panipat court till now where the hearing of the rape case is going on. The kids are living with their grandparents now.

The family has also approached the Punjab and Haryana high court for a CBI probe into the matter, apart from seeking arrest of the remaining three accused. Sheela said the case is still pending in the high court. Jitender, the main accused, is in judicial custody while the three others are roaming free.

When contacted, Panipat SP Parul Kush said she was busy in a meeting. "You can talk to DSP if it's really urgent." Bali Singh, DSP, said, "I joined here on May 6, hence I don't have much information about this matter. But I will look into the matter and will study the case file."

