4 apologies couldn’t change Santosh, even life sentence won’t’

photo by anand sharma

Priyadarshini Case
‘4 apologies couldn’t change Santosh, even life sentence won’t’
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 7
“I apologise to Priyadarshini and would not harass her again.” This undertaking was given not once but four times by Santosh Singh to the Delhi police when Priyadarshini Mattoo lodged four FIRs against him in different police stations for stalking and harassing her.She and her family accepted the apology hoping the man would be reformed.

Santosh did not keep his word and went on to brutally rape and kill Priyadarshani. And though the Supreme Court stated it was commuting the sentence as there was a chance he could be reformed, the aggrieved family does not see any hope.

“He apologised before me and in front of cops in a police station. But once out of the police net, he was again back to his harassing ways,” said Rajeshwari Mattoo, mother of Priyadarshini. ”My daughter had kept a copy of his signed apology. After her murder, the CBI took the papers and those were part of the case files,” added Rajeshwari.

The aged mother said if there was any chance of reformation,” my daughter would have been alive today”.

She recalled that once she was going in Delhi in a car with Priyadarshini when at the traffic lights, Santosh came and lay on the bonnet. “We were shocked and trembled with fear. This happened when he had already apologised in a police station few days ago. We were yet to react when he came near Priyadarshini, took the keys of the car and left us there. It happened in full public view and traffic cops were witness to it,” said Rajeshwari.

“When we lodged a complaint with the police, he gave another undertaking that he won’t harass Priya. We pardoned him as Priyadarshini didn’t want her precious time to be wasted in courts and hoped he would be reformed”,she said.

“Now, the Supreme Court is hoping he would be reformed. Going by what we have suffered, we have no hopes. But we are talking as victimised parents and not legal experts in the matter. The court may have reasons, but he won’t be reformed,” she said.