“I was just outside the court. I saw him standing there, he was speaking on the mobile. Suddenly, he came towards me. He whispered that I should not come to court again. And if I do, he would kill me and my son.” Babu’s voice was quivering as he told TNM this over the phone.
For Babu, the father of Hasini, a 7-year-old sexually assaulted and murdered in Chennai in February this year, the tribulations seem to be never-ending.
After much delay in a police chargesheet and then the accused getting bail, the father has now filed a police complaint against Dhasvanth, the accused in the case on Monday.
Alleging that Dhasvanth threatened him and his family in court, CDS Babu filed a complaint with the Chengalpattu town police.
The Chengalpattu Mahila Court, which is hearing the Hasini murder case, had framed charges against Dhasvanth and announced that the trial will begin on December 5.
Following Hasini’s death, Babu had shifted his family to Andhra as he was allegedly threatened by Dhasvanth’s family.
Dhasvanth threatened him not once, but twice says Babu. “After the hearing we were all standing outside. He was on a bike wearing a helmet, and he came near me and repeated the threat. I was rattled. Will he really harm my son?” Babu asked.
A few days ago, Babu was in a minor altercation with Dhasvanth after the latter tried to provoke him.
“I lost my daughter, I don’t want any more tragedies in my life. I thought the police can restrain him, but I don’t think that will happen,” Babu told TNM.
An FIR has not been registered by the police so far. According to Kannadasan, Babu’s lawyer, the Chengalpattu police informed Dhasvanth’s counsel about the complaint. “On Tuesday morning, his counsel submitted a petition in court that the accused (Dhasvanth) was intimidated by the father,” said Kannadasan.
He added, “We are apprehensive of the safety of witnesses during the trial.”
In February, 7-year-old Hasini, who was playing in her apartment complex in Chennai’s Mugalivakkam went missing. Her parents filed a case with the Mangadu police, and were devastated when they realised that their daughter had been murdered.
Dhasvanth, who was a neighbour, had allegedly lured the child into his house and sexually assaulted her. The 22-year-old had allegedly suffocated Hasini when she tried to scream for help. According to the police, he then put her body in a travel bag, bought petrol, and burnt her body on a highway.
Dhasvanth was released on bail in September after the Madras High Court set aside his detention under the Goonda’s Act.
In his complaint Babu writes, “Today is the date of hearing. The electricity went off two times inside the court in forenoon session. During that time, around 1pm the accused came near me on the pretext of making a phone call. He threatened me there by saying that he will kill me and my son if I continue to come to the Chengalpattu court.”
“After the hearing, while I was at the car park, he came to me in a bike, wearing a helmet. He threatened me again saying that he should never see me again at Chengalpattu or else he will go to Andhra,” reads the complaint.