Five years ago, people were on the streets demanding justice for the victim in the Nirbhaya Rape Case in Delhi. It was a moment when the citizens proved that this country is empathetic and will strongly stand against these inhumane actions. Recently, people and various organisations have carried out a protest in many parts of the country over the horrific rape cases in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao and Jammu’s Kathua district.
People in Mumbai also protested against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in UP, blaming the government for shielding the accused BJP MLA and failing to provide justice to the innocent victims.
An eight-year-old young soul was sedated, gang-raped and mercilessly killed by eight men in Jammu’s Kathua. The young girl was kidnapped, kept in a prayer hall for a week and her body was thrown in the jungle. The victim belonged to Bakherwal nomadic community and the community has been demanding justice for the crimes committed against their daughter.
A report published by the Indian Express reveals shocking details about this horrific rape and murder case. The report quotes from the charge sheet filed by the Crime branch and states that the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the child was planned in order to remove the nomadic community from that area. The main culprit behind this crime has been named as Sanji Ram and he was joined by his friend Pravesh Kumar (Mannu), his nephew – a juvenile in this case – and his son Vishal Jangotra (Shamma) including two special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma.
The charge sheet mentions that ₹4 lakh was allegedly given to the investigating officers, Head Constable Tilak Raj and Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta, to destroy the crucial evidence.
As this incident came into the limelight after three months, the right-wing outfits protested against the same, shamelessly, defending the rapists and murderers involved in this case. An incident where a child was the victim of the most inhumane act, took a communal turn when a right-wing organisation called Hindu Ekta Manch supported the accused and the outfit was set up by BJP leaders in Jammu, the Indian Express report mentioned.
This has the potential to create a massive tension between the two communities in India. People of this country should realise and unite to condemn this inhumane act and not fall prey to those who are communalising this issue which keeps away the victim from getting the true form of justice.
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
For almost one year, the victim pleaded for justice but no one listened to her cry until she tried to commit suicide in front of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s (Yogi Adityanath) residence. The girl was a minor when she was allegedly raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brother. The victim lost her father to these goons because he refused to take back the complaint registered against the MLA and his brother for raping her. A day later, the father was taken into judicial custody by the police and the victim’s mother alleged that her husband was killed by the MLA’s brother during the custody.
Even after the mainstream media picked up the issue, CM Yogi Adityanath-led government shielded the accused MLA for almost two weeks. The FIR was registered against the MLA only when Allahabad High Court raised questions and said: “Why is the accused MLA not being arrested?” However, the MLA was sent to seven-day custody on April 15.
Several news reports have said that the father of the victim used to work for the accused BJP MLA and the victim was raped at his residence. “Kuldeep Sengar raped me at his house, he promised me a job then and threatened to kill my family,” the victim told the media. “He didn’t allow us to study, kept my family under his thumb.”
According to a report published by The New Indian Express, the victim’s uncle said that the BJP MLA’s goons are threatening the villagers to keep quiet over this issue.
The state is to liberate the people and not commit crimes against its own people. India has a long way to go and become a socially advanced state. With the incidents of rape, communal violence, killings of minorities and oppressed communities, the Indian administration in its states and at the centre has failed to provide an environment of social harmony.
Recently, an image from a porn website is doing the rounds on social media which shows the sick mentality of some people in India – the image is a screenshot which has the name of the child who was raped in Jammu on trending. We need to question the mentality and the way people think about such sensitive issues. We claim to be a civilised society, the fastest growing economy in the world, but our thoughts through that image reflect a sick mindset.
The criminals come from our society, they don’t see religion or caste or ethnicity of an individual before committing a crime against him/her. Indians have always stood for justice in scenarios like these. So, why bother about these baseless religious debates now which minuses the humanitarian aspect in our society? Instead, we should question and contemplate on the BJP government and certain leaders (who are defending the culprits and call the outrage anti-Hindu) stand on this issue.
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