‘Shocked to see men defending men… Justice must be served': Murdered tennis player Radhika Yadav's friend in new video

Indian Express

5 days ago

A friend of the murdered tennis player Radhika Yadav Tuesday expressed her shock at the barrage of comments on a video she posted, defending the action of Yadav's father, who allegedly killed her in Gurgaon earlier in July.
Radhika, a 25-year-old state-level tennis player, was shot dead allegedly by her father, Deepak Yadav, at their home in Sushant Lok 2 in Sector 52 on July 10.
In the caption of a video posted on Instagram, her friend Himanshika Singh Rajput said, 'I posted two videos about Radhika Yadav last week, and I was shocked to see my entire comment section filled with men defending men. This is not okay. Justice must be served. Men need to understand that this world doesn't belong to them alone women exist, women resist, and women will continue to fight for each other.'
In the comments, some users said the father of Yadav did the right thing, and some accused her friend, Himanshika Singh Rajput, of playing the victim card.
Rajput also said that women will not stay silent, they will keep speaking up, and fighting back.
'It is not acceptable for men or parents to impose 'small' restrictions at home, like telling girls what to wear, where to go, or how to behave. These are part of the problem. It's time for men to educate other men. It's time for parents not just mothers to teach their sons how to respect women. Enough of only teaching daughters how to stay safe. When will men finally learn?'
In two videos posted earlier, Rajput accused Radhika Yadav's father of being 'controlling', and making his daughter's life 'miserable for years'.
In one of her earlier videos, Rajput accused Deepak Yadav of murdering Radhika. 'They couldn't stand to see her independent. They shamed her for wearing shorts, for talking to boys, for living life on her own terms,' she said in a caption of the Instagram video.
Referring to a music video featuring Radhika, which was shared widely online after her death, Rajput said it was a normal one, and that her father 'even dropped her for the shoot'.
Rajput claimed that Radhika's parents had the 'log kya kahenge (what will people say)' mindset, and she faced considerable societal pressure. 'Her parents were orthodox. She suffered for long, was feeling suffocated. She had to always clarify what she was doing and whom she was talking to — even when she would be talking or video-calling me,' she said.
Rajput said Radhika had to come back home at a particular time, even though the tennis academy where she coached was 50 metres from her house.
Her uncle, Kuldeep Yadav, 46, lodged a complaint with the Gurgaon police after Radhika's father allegedly shot at her at around 10.30 am on July 10. Kuldeep said he heard the gunshots, rushed upstairs, and found Radhika lying in a pool of blood.
In his FIR, Kuldeep stated that Deepak was allegedly taunted by villagers, who claimed he was living off his daughter's income. He said Deepak had also asked her to stop coaching at the academy, but she refused.