Road in Mumbai to be Named After Priyanka Chopra's Father - Page 5

"I've come out with the truth (in an interview to Savvy), and now I'm just waiting to confront the man in court... I've won a personal battle by actually being able to tell the world what happened to me 24 years ago. But it's more than just a personal crusade now. I want to show other women that the stigma must lie with the assailant, not the victim, and for that, the truth must be told," 37-year-old Shivani said today from Dubai.

Her husband, Rajiv Saxena, added: "We are filing a civil suit in Bareilly by early next week demanding a compensation of Rs 25 lakh, as the law requires us to quantify it. We do not want any money... the amount decreed by the court will be paid directly to an NGO dealing with sexually-abused children, with us putting in an equal amount."

In an affidavit faxed to The Telegraph, Shivani stated how Chopra, then junior officer to her father Dr Suresh Chandra Saksena in Ferozepur, had, in January 1976, "abused me sexually... terrorised me...".

"He abused me the first time in the barracks in which I was living with my family...the second assault (was) in a room of the mess... I was terrified... I began to feel that if I did mention the assault on me, my parents would not be able to take the shock... My childhood was shattered...condemning me, a 12-year-old child, to a lifetime of grief."

Shivani told Rajiv, a chartered accountant hailing from Bareilly, "everything" before their marriage in 1985. For the mother of two, "it all came rushing back" when her father informed her about "the daughter of his junior officer from Ferozepur" being nominated for Miss World.

Seeing pictures of "that man" splashed in the papers just made matters worse. "Seeing my wife reliving her nightmare and sobbing herself to sleep, I decided I would not allow the man to get away with this. She's suffered enough...," said Rajiv.

Dr Chopra refused to comment from his chamber in Bareilly. His legal counsel, S.K. Puri, however, said: "It's all trash... This is nothing but a vilification campaign. Dr Chopra had been receiving anonymous threat calls from the time his daughter, Priyanka, went for the Miss World competition... He does remember Shivani as a kid' in Ferozepur, the daughter of his immediate commanding officer, and finds it difficult to understand why this is happening. We have sent a notice to the Saxenas, contradicting all their charges, and demanding an apology, failing which we will have to take the legal route."

The Saxenas are yet to receive the "notice". Advocate Gautam Kothari said from New Delhi: "There is no question of an apology. A civil suit demanding compensation for the tortuous acts of trespass to persons will be filed in the Bareilly lower court on Friday or Monday. We aren't filing a criminal suit yet as it would require Shivani Saxena to be present in court for every hearing."

Life at the Saxena and Saksena homes will never be the same again. "My mother is upset, my father angry that I never told them for so many years... we have started to tell our children who will understand gradually. But now there's no question of stopping the fight," said Shivani. Rajiv, who's stood by her, declared: "We have won part of the battle because eight out of 10 people who'll meet the man now will be suspicious. But this is just the beginning."