The last few weeks have been distressing for India with multiple reports of minors being raped and sexually assaulted across the country. Rape, no matter what, is a heinous crime. Irrespective of the religion, caste or creed of the accused and the victim, irrespective of how powerful the accused is, it is imperative that they are tried and punished by the law. All of us need to work towards a society where our children are safe and parents don’t live in a constant fear of their kids getting raped or sexually assaulted.
In Surat, on April 6, an 11-yr-old girl was found raped and murdered with 86 injuries. She was raped for eight days. In Delhi, a 12-year-old was raped and her family was sent the WhatsApp video of the crime. Similar to these, on April 22, report of a 10-year-old being abducted and allegedly raped in a madrasa came from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The girl went missing on April 21. The father registered a case with Ghaziabad police. The police then found her in a madrasa.
Let us know the facts related to the case based on the police statement:
The 10-yr-old girl was abducted on April 21, when she went to buy milk at 2:30 pm. She said the accused took her to the Madrasa to make her meet his friends. Police found the girl inside the madrasa on April 22 and she gave a statement in front of a magistrate and the MLC on April 23 which pointed to sexual assault. Police arrested a 17-year-old boy under IPC section 376 and Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act for the alleged rape of the girl. Considering that the accused is a minor, he was sent to a juvenile home. Family of the victim said that they don’t know the accused and alleged that the Maulvi (Cleric) of the Madrasa was involved. After outrage, the case was transferred to crime branch from east district police on April 24. Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, told The Indian Express that the police might conduct a bone ossification test to ascertain the age of the boy arrested. Reported by The Indian Express today, the girl has nowhere spoken of gang rape in the police statement and said that the accused 17-year-old first took her to the madrasa’s terrace, and then to the second floor after the Maulvi left. Nonetheless, the crime branch is questioning three other men to know if they were present during the alleged rape. Maulvi was arrested on Friday(27th April).
The case took a political turn on Wednesday, April 25, when East Delhi BJP MP Mahesh Girri accused the Maulvi and alleged that the rape was part of a larger conspiracy hatched by the Maulvi. The MP demanded his immediate arrest. He claimed that the girl was sedated and was in mental trauma hence he could not meet her, so he was relying on the family’s statement. He also alleged gang rape.
After meeting the family on Wednesday, Delhi BJP workers led by MPs Mahesh Giri and Manoj Tiwari, took out a candlelight march from the Central Secretariat metro station to India Gate in the evening, demanding #JusticeforGeeta (name changed).
रेप के राक्षस को फांसी पे लटकायो Society को जगाओ Ek candle ले के आप भी आज रात India Gate आयो ..आशा है @RahulGandhi ji @ArvindKejriwal ji भी ज्वाइन करेंगे #JusticeForGeeta pic.twitter.com/eLzwc0RPa7
— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) April 25, 2018
The protestors also asked why Bollywood is not outraging on the issue as it did earlier this month in the Kathua rape case. When Bollywood did respond, this is the response they received
Dear Hindus, if you have any self respect or dignity left, PLEASE do not watch any movie that stars @ReallySwara, Kareena Kapoor, @humasqureshi Kalki Koechlin, Sonam Kapoor and all other placard wala B grade actresses. Hit them where it hurts.
— Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) April 16, 2018
E-commerce giant Amazon distanced itself from Swara Bhaskar and deleted a promotional tweet made by her after the actress spoke against rape. This is how the news was covered by international media:
Aljazeera headline
Since the Ghaziabad rape was reported, the ones protesting “in support of the victim” have indulged in whataboutery, asking – why are the ones who were vocal during the Kathua and Unnao rape cases are now mum when a 10-yr-old victim was raped in a “Madrasa”? Few of the questions circulated on national and social media are:
आसिफा और गीता में फ़र्क क्यों ??देवस्थान के नाम पर तमाशा,मदरसे के नाम पर सन्नाटा ??#JusticeForGeeta
— ROHIT CHAHAL (@rohit_chahal) April 27, 2018
Let’s all together demand #JusticeForGeeta so what if the #Metoo gang & other #Pseudoliberals are silent. pic.twitter.com/rskfKo06ig
— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) April 27, 2018
Shared on social media & WhatsApp Kathua & Unnao vs Madrasa – Not all rapists enjoy political patronage Kathua rape happened in January and initially, none of the national media outlets reported it. On February, Hindu Ekta Manch led by two BJP ministers took out a rally…
