Grieving parents seek justice 9 months after mysterious death of 19-year-old

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: It is 11 years since the horrific rape and murder of 'Nirbhaya' in Delhi shook the nation, but it is heart-wrenching that the victims of such crimes still lack access to justice.

Almost nine months after the mysterious death of a 19-year-old girl, Tabassum Savaddati, in Belagavi in Namma Karnataka came to light her parents are still running from pillar to post just to ascertain the circumstances that led to the death of their daughter.

Shabera Banu Savaddati, mother of the deceased girl, shared her ordeal with News Trail and said that she had approached many policemen and political leaders requesting their intervention in the matter. But except for sympathy and assurance, she has got nothing so far.

Shabera Banu, a resident of Bailhongal, was living a normal life with her three children including Tabassum.

"She completed her education and training in Belagavi before getting a call centre job in Bengaluru in May 2022," Shabera Banu said, while trying to hold back her tears.

Tabassum was working for a call centre in Kudlu Gate on Hosur Road here. For six months, everything was working well for Shabera until she received an unexpected phone call from her daughter on October 11. "Tabassum said that she wanted to come back. We were surprised and said that we would come to Bengaluru to pick her up.

She refused, though she was not feeling well. She shared her photo over WhatsApp in which she looked weak and her face was swollen," said Shabera. In the evening Tabassum left Bengaluru and was heading towards Belagavi.

Shabera said that a person called us using Tabassum's mobile phone and introduced himself as Kiran Lamani. He said that he was the bus driver and said that he would drop Tabassum at Bagewadi the next morning. An even bigger shock awaited Tabassum's parents on October 12 as they got to know that their daughter had been admitted to a hospital in Belagavi.

"We rushed to the hospital and saw her in a comatose condition. The hospital staff said that two or three men brought her to the hospital saying that she fell from a bus. However, we could not find anyone there and Tabassum's mobile phone was also missing," she said.

During medication, the doctors found a head injury along with bruises and cigarette burn marks on other parts of her body.

"The doctors told us to take her to KLE Hospital, where she died the next morning," Shabera said.

As the family were running short on money for the treatment, they started calling their relatives for help. However, within a few hours, everything came to a sudden halt. Tabassum died in the morning of October 13.

The next day, Shabera received a phone call from Tabassum's friend who informed her that Tabassum had not come to the office for several days. Later, it was revealed that she had gone to Goa with friends but never went to work since then.

Despite running around for nine months, her parents could not find the exact reason for the death of their beloved young daughter. The family and relatives have alleged that she was raped.

"We are planning to visit Bengaluru to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. We want justice and want the accused persons to be punished," Shabera told News Trail.

Eleven years ago, Sowjanya, a second PU student of Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College in Ujire, was brutally raped and murdered in Dharmasthala. Her parents are still awaiting justice for their daughter.