The Rape Horror Continues, This Time In Chhattisgarh
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-10-08 08:45:01
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Even as the Hathras incident continues to inflame passions across India, another two-month old tragic gang-rape and suicide incident and police apathy has come to light in Chhattisgarh. A teenager was raped by seven people about two months back in a village about 190 kms away from Raipur. She committed suicide the next day. Her family could not get an FIR registered. A few days back, her father tried to commit suicide by consuming pesticide but was saved by doctors. Now, the administration has stirred into action.
The girl has gone to attend a wedding with her parents and family in the neighbouring village. There she was forcibly taken by two youths to a nearby field. Five others joined them there and they raped the girl for several hours. She did not immediately tell anyone about the incident as the rapists had said they would kill her if she told anyone. But later she told about the incident to a friend. Her parents stayed back at the wedding but she returned with other family member the next day. She hanged herself in her house the next day when no one was present.
Her family tried to report the incident after her death but the local police did not register the FIR. They verbally promised to take action but did nothing for two months. Her father was worried that since two months had gone by, the FIR would no longer be registered and his daughter will not get justice. Hence he tried to commit suicide.
The administration has woken up now and is investigating the case. The girl's body has been exhumed for conducting an autopsy. A hint is on to nab the accused who are all residents of neighbouring villages. But still, like the police everywhere in India, the Kondagaon SP has tried to project the father as mentally ill and has said that his attempted suicide had nothing to do with the case. The Bastar IG has instructed the police to complete investigations in the next 10 days.
The incident shows that across India, policemen have a strange reluctance to register FIRs in cases of crime against women. The first reaction is to cover-up such crimes or act as if nothing has happened. They stir into action only when additional incidents (like the attempted suicide of the father in this case, or the immolation attempt in front of the UP CMs house some months back in another case) take place. The police wrongly think that the area will get a bad name if the crime is reported. In fact, they will win plaudits if they take prompt and stern action, solve the case and get the culprits punished for the crime. There is an urgent need to sensitize and strictly instruct policemen who man the local thanas to follow the correct procedure in all such cases, more so when the victim is a minor and the POCSO Act is to be invoked.
