Spurt in rape and sexual harrassment cases in Punjab, victims die unheard

By Satinder Bains/Punjab News Express
CHANDIGARH: While Punjab is struggling to wash off stigma of drug menace, the focus is now shifting to rising crime against women ranging from gang rapes or rapes to sexual harrassament of girls and few recent casaes of victims committing suicide for not able to get justice.  Hardly any day passes without the reports of gang rapes or rape and sexual harrassment cases though there is also rise in cases of day light robberies and murders in the recent past.

The spurt in cases of crime against women may be fallout of criminalisation of politics over the years and it also indicates existance of a nexus between drug smugglers, police and politicians. The recent incidents in which girls were forced to commit suicides have put question marks on the sincerety of SAD-BJP government in protecting dignity of women who are soft targets. Is this social disorder or failure of law and order machinery ?

To recall cases of shame, there is long list of incidents involving criminals with political links taking the toll of innocent girls who are vulnerable and defenceless. However the recent incident of a dalit girl from Sangrur is an eye opener of callousness shown by police and civil administration. The 16 year old girl, student of 12th class was harrassed for days together and her cries were heard only when she immolated herself and finally died in PGI Chandigarh. Thankfully, the police reached on time to record the dying statement of the deceased girl.

This is second incident in a row in a week's time. Another 17 year old class 12 girl student of Sant Baba Hazara Singh college in Ghuman Kalan village in district Gurdaspur hanged herself with ceiling fan of hostel room after being harrassed sexually and threatened by a 24 year old boy. The accused of a native of Uttar Pradesh was booked for abetment to suicide only after girl ended her life. A case of another dalit girl of Patiala district is still alive in the memory of people where the girl was gang raped by four youth from politically connected families. The police refused to record the statement of girl and insisted on compromise with the accused. Harrassed by accused's families and police, the girl set herself ablaze and died. It was after her death that police lodged the FIR and arrested the accused. Ironically, the police Inspector responsible for her death, dismissed from service at that time, was reinstated after few months.

Similar reports of girls stalked and harrassed by hooligans committed suicide have emerged from Faridkot, Ludhiana and Amritsar. A 10th class student of Ambedkar Nagar in Faridkot had set herself ablaze in March 2013. She was so scared that she was not able to move out of her house due to stalking by certain local youth. The goons even thrashed the father of the girl. The police later arrested the accused who got only five years in jail. In November 2013 another Ludhiana girl victim of molestation committed suicide at Basti Jodhewal.The family had pulled her off the school which led to depression.She finally hanged herself. A woman employee of five star hotel in Ludhiana was recently kidnapped from outside the hotel and gang raped in the moving car throughout the night. A school student was raped by her teacher in Amritsar only last week.

Two months back the whole Punjab boiled into agitation mode after a dalit girl from Moga district was molested and thrown out of the running bus alongwith her mother. The girl had died on the spot and issue blew to a major controversy because the bus involved in the incident belonged to ruling Badal family. The accused staff was arrested after anger started spreading across the state but case was almost hushed up after the Orbit Transport company paid an compensation of about Rs.36 lakhs to the bereaved family.

An Assistant Sub Inspector Ravinderpal Singh was shot dead by Ranjit Rana a gangster and an office bearer of Youth Akali Dal when he(ASI) went to save the dignity of her daughter. Rana and his accomplices chased and physically assualted the girl returning home from college. She called her father who was killed in full public view and accused raised the slogans of Youth Akali Dal Zindabad. This was an incident which exposed the political patronisation of criminals.

These are the reported cases which shaked the system but many such incidents of rape and sexual harrassment go unreported or fails to make headlines in the newspapers due to families compromising or not reporting the incidents for fear of social stigma. According to a survey 68 percent of cases of sexual harrassment are not reported to police. The Punjab Police is keeping itself busy in VIP duties and finds little time to look into day to day grievances of people. It is high time that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal who is also home minister shall stop finding excuses to get rid of every evil flourishing under their nose. On the issue of drug menace in Punjab Chief Minister had claimed it was a conspiracy to defame Punjab and no drugs are manufactured in the state. One can hope he will not use the same excuse for rapes, sexual harrassment and robberies happening in the neighbourhood.