In a shocking incident, a 19-year-old girl from Greater Noida's Dadri district was killed after falling off from scooter when two bike-borne eve-teasers chased her while she was on her way to Bulandshahr. Sudiksha Bhati, who was studying in Babson College in Massachusetts, US, had come to India for vacations and was supposed to return to the United States on August 20.
Sudiksha was on her way with her uncle on a scooty when two men on a motorbike started following them. The bike-borne eve-teasers passed derogatory comments on Sudiksha and were trying to overtake her. Suddenly, their bike hit Sudiksha's scooter and it lost balance. Sudiksha died on the spot, her family members claimed.
"The men were passing comments on Sudiksha and were trying to overtake her vehicle performing stunts to impress her. Suddenly, their Bullet hit Sudiksha's scooty and she lost balance. Sudiksha died on the spot," her uncle Satyendra Bhati said.
Sudiksha, whose father runs a small dhaba and mother is a homemaker, had grown up with dreams about a school education when financial constraints forced her to drop out in 2009.
Sudiksha - An excellent career and a dream cut short
The eldest of six siblings, when Sudiksha started her journey to fulfil that dream, circumstances led her father, Jitendra Bhati, to take her out of school. Her father, Jitendra, who comes from a family of farmers, had started a business in 2004, but faced losses until 2009.
As the business floundered, he had to sell off his land to start a tea stall. Keeping her in school was the last priority. Sudiksha was out of school for some time, but the urge to study kept her going.
"Initially, I was very upset with my father and blamed him for not being able to study. However, a few days later, I went to the government school and sought admission," she had said in an earlier interview.
She was later admitted to a government primary school in her village, Dhoom Manikpur, where she studied till Class V. Her bright academic credentials soon forced her father to think of a better school. He got books for her daughter to prepare for the entrance exams to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and Vidyagyan Leadership Academy in Bulandshahr.
In 2011, Sudiksha was admitted to the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, where she studied till Class 12, free of cost.
It was, however, a summer academic programme at the Lacocca Institute in Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in July 2016, which led Sudiksha to dream of going abroad. She was one of the 76 students from India selected by the institute.
"The experience was transformative. I decided I wanted to go to the US for future studies," she had told during her interviews earlier.
In April 2017, Sudiksha started preparing for the SAT exam, which assesses a student's readiness for admission in a US college, and TOEFL.
"My school helped us prepare and funded the tests, besides exempting us from regular Class 12 classes, just to help us clear the exam," she had added.
Sudiksha, along with three other students of the school, had secured scholarships in different colleges in the US. Her untimely death has left the whole family and entire locality in the state of shock.
Twitter reacts to Sudiksha's death:
"Sudeeksha was a very talented girl from a humble background in UP, studying in US on a merit scholarship. She was chased by eve teasers in Gautam Buddha Nahar, while being on leave due to COVID-19 pandemic," Niteen wrote on Twitter with #JusticeForSudeeksha.
Eve Teasing
The state government spokesman has categorically denied that there was any eve teasing involved in the incident and said that the family of the victim has not made any such complaint.
"The body has been sent for post mortem and the case is being investigated," Atul Srivastava, Superintendent of Police (city) said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati demanded immediate action on the arresting of the culprits.
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