Surender Koul
Every day TV channels at news hour slot flash breaking news for inquisitive viewers. Breaking news of political content has become a routine feature. Viewers get glued to their TV sets, even some time forgetting to gulp a morsel of meal, eagerly waiting to know about new political developments. Of late, the frequency of breaking news are not of political stuff or of national security but of heinous crimes focusing on rapes and violations against women in civilized country like India . Hardly, any day is left in print even where atrocities against women is not reported. Ironically, some of the rape cases are prominently exposed at national level by political leaders ,human right organizations and NGOs to meet their own ends .It has also been noticed that most of the rape cases either go unreported or ignored because they are deprived of media or political leaders attention. Though, four years ago, Nirbaya case which gathered public attention in the country forced law making body to impose stringent punishment, yet incidents of rapes never stopped. Law enforcing agencies and prosecution are still ineffective to book culprit in time frame. Lately, the attention of Indian masses is focused on two rape cases that took place in Districts of Unna, UP and Kathua in Jammu. The suspected culprits are allegedly supported by political groups in their respective districts of both the states. Rape in Kathua was of minor girl of eight years who later was murdered and dumped in the field. In Unna rape case the father of the victim girl was beaten to death by BJP MLA’s musclemen to force the family to withdraw the case registered against the ruling party MLA in UP. Comparatively, Kathua rape and murder of 8 year girl child, became national outrage which prodded Mehbooba Mufti to announce fast track trial in the state to punish the perpetrators of horrendous crime to a minor. Her decision of holding fast track trial of Kathua case was appreciated by every law abiding state subject. But, why such gross apathy towards Kashmiri Hindu minority women who were gang raped and barbarously murdered in 1989-90 in the valley and there is no justices for them?
Gauging the trends in the state, local populace of Kathua district and Bar Association of Jammu are particular to handover the investigation of the case to CBI. The reason is absolute trust deficit in delivery of impartial probe by the state agencies. Already three police officials were suspended by the Government for their dereliction of duties. Now the case is dipped into controversy. The lawyer of the accused is pressing for CBI probe as her clients have lost faith in the state police as local police might falsely implicate her clients. On the other side J&K Govt. standing council opposed the plea for a CBI probe as SIT of state crime branch is investigating it. Demand of transferring the case out of state was opposed by standing council who advocated that state had its own Ranbir penal code for legal procedures and commuting of witness outside the state would shatter the fast trial process.
Supreme Court had to take cognisance of the case and had to decide on two fronts, whether to transfer the case to Chandigarh or not and if the case could be handed over to CBI for further probe; till then highest court has stayed the hearing of the case to 7th May? It reprimanded some lawyers for playing spoilers role and has sought opinion of the state for holding hearing of the case in Chandigarh in place of Jammu. On this shameful incident Dr Farooq Abdullah endorsed the demand of conducting trial of the case in Chandigarh. Here the alleged culprits held under detention are Hindu and the victim was Muslim girl as a result of that religious colour was bound to happen. So much so Bollywood also jumped into controversial rape cum murder case. . Rapes and murder of similar plan in Assam or in Delhi were never given a religious colour. Crime is crime. It is not carrying bench mark of any religion. Any peace loving citizen, would condemn Kathua and Unno rape cases which were cruel acts.
News about atrocities on women like dowry deaths, molestation at public places and in offices, kidnapping of girls for prostitution, selling of innocent girls to Arab sheikhs, raping of minor girl and murdering after mutilating or disfiguring parts of the body spreads like wide fire within the country and world over. Such inhuman acts bring bad name to the Indian society abroad that affects foreign tourists especially women. . Unusually, foreign tourist groups on arrival ask Indian guides, why rapes are common in Indian cities? Of course they are concerned about such incidents because foreign women tourists were not spared whether in Agra or in Kerala. In wake of national wide outrage over rape PM Narendra Modi on his return from Sweden and UK, his cabinet cleared stringent ordinance for lengthen the jail term and even death penalty for sex offenders convicted for raping minor girl below the age of 12 years. It should be an eye opener for Indian law makers to see how judiciary of Dubai ordered shooting down of a rapist of 12 years girls in public view within 15 minutes of the incident that became viral on social media. This was an exemplary punishment which shuddered the nerve of onlookers. Definitely, it works as effective deterrent among the citizens and creates a sense of fear in potential sex predators. Women rights group and criminologists are not in favour of death penalty. They maintain that investigation and prosecution should be strengthen so that perpetrators of the crime are actually convicted in first place. Besides, there are Human Right groups, Amnesty International, PUCL, PUDL, Citizen’s Justices Committee which would oppose death penalty to sex offenders. Indian courts pronouncing death penalty in rape and murder cases are to face implementation challenges from various human right groups.
As per National Criminal Research Bureau (NCRB), the conviction rate of those accused of sexual crimes against girls in 2015 was only 34 percent. Of the 5361 trials completed in 2015, 1843 ended in conviction, while 3518 led to the acquittal or discharge of the accused. The wide publicity through TV channels and public protests on the streets and in Universities against the rapists and women molesters has pressed police force to initiate result oriented action. This fear of police action and ordinance for extended imprisonment or death penalty passed by Union cabinet is believed to have deterrent impact. In addition to police action, serious attempts are to be made to rekindle ethical and moral values among the boys and girls, both at school and at parental level. They are to be made conscious by imparting lessons on social and moral values, dos and don’t in a good society so that they can feel that any wrong doing amounts to committing of a sin.
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