The BHU rape case has highlighted the involvement of the ruling party & increasing cases of crimes against women in the state which is a matter of concern
Tags: Sexual violence, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, BHU
Related Issue: Sexual Violence, Right to Justice, Educational Institutions
According to the yearly data released by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) it is quite clear that Uttar Pradesh tops the chart of maximum number of crimes against women in India. It directly nullifies the tall claims from the UP government and worries us all. This situation is not only dangerous for women but also indicates how cruel and inhuman our society is becoming. This proves that our society severely lacks educational and humanistic values for which the state government is directly responsible. It is of grave concern that the UP government has not just failed at controlling the increasing cases of crimes against women but has often found itself protecting such criminals. The year started with a revelation that the three men who were found to be involved in the November 1st BHU gangrape case were actually members of the BJP IT cell. Their association with the ruling party first came into light just after the unfortunate incident and now it is clear why efforts were made to save them. Initially the FIR mentioned just the section of molestation but after the brave survivor gave her statement in front of the magistrate, the section of gangrape was finally addedtoit. The protesting students at BHU say that the arrests of the three accused only happened after the responsible police official at Benaras was transferred, else the CCTV footage at the campus clearly revealed their identity and hence it was an easy task to arrest them which obviously happened later. After identifying them it was also found that the three men used to regularly enter the campus on their bike and molest other girls. But the BHU administration along with the police administration which installed cameras at multiple locations inside the campus and controlled mobility of girls couldn’t keep an eye on those men, let alone taking any corrective measures against them.
It is a dangerous trend for not just the Indian society but also Indian politics that these rapists went on to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh state elections to campaign for BJP and hence got protection from them. Not only that, they can be seen getting their photographs clicked with BJP Chief J.P. Nadda, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A government which uses its agencies like the NIA among others to keep an eye out at every single move that social activists make couldn’t catch rapists from their own party and kept protecting them gives out a dangerous message. The NCRB data also needs to be correlated with the fact that multiple BJP leaders (including MPs and MLAs) have been found to be guilty of sexual harrasment and rape, and in other cases they have been found to be supporting people accused of horrificsexual crimes, just like in the Hathras case. From Hathras to BHU, the government has targeted people protesting against such horrific crimes and thrown them into jails. In the Hathras case, the UP government openly targeted journalist Siddique Kappan and sent him to jail while in the BHU case ABVP has filed severe cases against the protesters using laws like the SC/ST protection act. The police and university administration colluded with ABVP and supported them to file such false cases. These Facts are in public. Apart from it being distressing news, it also points towards the reasons behind increasing cases of crimes against women in UP. The Prime Minister of India contests from Banaras which can be called the most important parliamentary seat in UP and yet the data shows that 6 rapes happen every day from his area. These facts and figures present a worrying tale of Uttar Pradesh and directly contradicts the claims of Chief Minister Adityanath. Uttar Pradesh PUCL expresses it’s deep concern towards the NCRB data and questions the affiliation of the accused in the BHU gang-rape case with the government and demands the following:
- Every single possible step should be taken to curb the increasing cases of sexual crimes against women in the state.
- Since the rapists in the BHU case are closely affiliated with the ruling party hence it should be made sure that the investigating agencies aren’t pressurized and follow the lawful process so that the survivor can get justice.
- As per the doctrine of justice, justice shouldn’t just happen but also seem to happen, hence it is important that this case be transferred out of the state to a non-BJP ruling state.
PUCL Uttar Pradesh
President Seema Azad
General Secretary Kamal Singh