Park Street rape survivor Suzette Jordan dies of multiple-organ failure

Mumbai: Brutal gangrape survivor Suzette Jordan, who took on the police as well as the West Bengal government in her fight for justice, has died. Jordan, 40, died of multiple-organ failure at a hospital in Kolkata on Friday.

Jordan, a single mother of two girls, had been in hospital for three days.

"She passed away in the morning. She was suffering from health problems and got admitted to a city hospital for last few days," Joint CP (Crime) Pallab Kanti Ghosh told PTI. Ghosh, however, said details about her ailment were still awaited.

She was raped at gunpoint in a car on February 6, 2012, by five young men who picked her up from Park Street. The police, in its chargesheet, named five men, of which three are behind bars. Two others, including the prime accused, are yet to be arrested.

Earlier, in one of her interviews Jordan said, “Why should a person who has been raped be called a victim when they are actually a survivor?” In 2013, she boldly revealed her identity to the world. She marched on the streets of Kolkata and protested against a series of rapes and murders in the state.

After the horrific rape, Jordan struggled for more than a year to get a job. The Park Street rape victim stood up against circumstances and started empowering survivors like her through a helpline.

“I have this mission to empower rape victims like me. With this job, I embark on a new journey,” she had said, adding that the work is also helping heal her wounds.

“I have crossed a very big hurdle with this job. Given my own experience, I can relate very well with women who have been harassed sexually or physically,” the rape victim had said. “By discussing our problems together we are trying to break the stigma. When we get ostracised by society, it adds to our trauma. We are trying to address that problem with the helpline.”