Rajkot, July 06: Pooja Chauhan, who paraded in her inner clothes on Rajkot roads to protest harassment by husband and in-laws, has filed a case against them under Domestic Violence Act, which provides scope of stringent punishment and protection from court, very much required in case of Pooja after she has been asked by her landlord to vacant the place.

The complaint against husband Pratap, mother-in-law Hansaba and two neighbours-Ranchod and Vinod- has been filed with social security officer Rajkot and copy has been sent to Gandhigram police station.According to ANANDI, an NGO that guided Pooja, the case has been filed under DVA given the seriousness of the case. `For her protection a case under DVA is appropriate as it also provides scope to claim protection from court'', said NGO. According to the NGO this will help Pooja retain her home even as it also means fast trials. ``Under this act now no body can ask her to leave the place where she has been living. And for the same she can claim for protection too', said NGO. When contacted, landlord Bhanabhai Bharvad, he said: "After the recent controversy, we cannot allow her to stay here.''

But Pooja is determined to fight the battle against injustice till the end. She says that what she did was with full understanding and that she is not mentally unsound as alleged. "They (police and in-laws) are out to prove me mad,'' says Pooja, adding that "I did all this when my complaints went unheard''.Narrating her plight, she says her in-laws would beat her up asking for dowry. She also alleges that they would often ask her to get into prostitution to bring money.

She denied some media reports that she had never been harassed for not bearing a male child. Now, she has got the responsibility of taking care of her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Anjali.Amid all this, Pooja is however determined to keep fighting for justice. "If in next 20 days police do not take action against Ranchod, I will find him out and beat him up.''

What if justice is not done? She says she will end her life. "They must be taught a lesson. What happened with me should not happen with any other woman...If I fail to teach them a lesson, I will commit suicide,'' she says. She says she does not want to bother her poor parents. "I think I will stay in the open plot of our society. I may also go out of city to live. But I will wait for 20 days,'' she says, adding that she would like to support herself.

Pooja case: One yr, 4 police complaints
Over a period of more than one year, there have been four police complaints with respect to Pooja Chauhan. But all those complaints were not filed by Pooja. According to records of Gandhigram Police Station, on February 16, 2006, Pooja tried to commit suicide by consuming poison. But when an executive magistrate recorded her statement, she denied that there was any harassment either by her husband or in-laws. "I have no complaints against my husband and mother in-law. They have never beaten or assaulted me. I took this step because I felt bad about what my mother-in-law told me,'' she had then said.Then came a complaint on March 7, 2007 filed by Pooja's husband Pratap at Gandhigram Police Station. The complaint said that Pooja had been mentally and physically harassing Hansaba, Pratap's mother.On the same day, Pooja registered a cross-complaint, alleging that her husband and brother-in-law were harassing her.Then the couple together registered a complaint on May 31, 2007. They alleged that their neighbour Satiben and her brother Ranchod had harassed them.Police say they took action whenever there was a complaint. "In the attempt to suicide case, an FIR was not lodged as Pooja gave a clean chit to her in-laws,'' said Commissioner of Police K Nityanandam.