Bhopal student gang rape is no 'filmy story'. It is a horrifying testament to our times
A 19-year-old woman was gang-raped by four men for three hours in Bhopal. The depravity of the crime was accentuated by the fact that the rapists took tea and gutka breaks while they took turns at the woman.
Bruised and battered, the woman reportedly walked up to a police station for help. According to her, all three police stations turned her away. One police official even mocked her for cooking up a "filmy story". This when the woman's parents are both police personnel.
The incident highlights how rape in India is not one single incident but a repeated attack on a woman's body, mind and soul. This incident that has been reported from Bhopal is not a "filmy story". It is sadly the brutal truth about the failure of our criminal justice system, our rederessal mechanisms, and our society in ensuring that the sufferers of sexual assaults are not victimised repeatedly.
In what is a clear shame for the Bhopal Police, the rapists in this case had to be caught and handed over to them by the victim and her parents. According to The Times of India, her father is a sub-inspector with a security force and mother with the CID.
It is chilling to imagine just how vulnerable this system leaves the women of this country. This is probably also why so many rapes take place in India. We have failed to collectively build deterrents for the rapists on the prowl. If our police officers are going to turn the system against our women, what is the hope left for them.
The incident also begs an important question. Has anybody bothered to sensitise our police personnel to the gravity of rape and the numerous other crimes against women that have created a constant fear syndrome that women live with and carry with them when they venture out or stay put in their homes.
The 19-year-old woman raped in Bhopal was returning from her coaching classes when a man, identified as Golu Bihari Chadhar, grabbed her. Faced with resistance from the woman, Golu called out his accomplice Amar Ghuntu. Together they dragged her towards a nullah and raped her. The men hit the woman with a stone and tied her legs, hands and mouth when she resisted. The woman's clothes were torn in the incident. She begged the duo to get her some clothes, Golu left. He came back with clothes and two more men. They raped her too. Not done yet with the woman, they took away her phone, wallet and earrings.
This is not the stuff of a Bollywood movie. This is the reality of the society we live in. And we have collectively made our reality so horribly ugly that we are now failing to believe it ourselves.
The belief that there is nothing more brutal than rape is challenged by this treatment of a rape victim who is mocked for being raped, accused of concocting the story of her own rape by none other than police officers whose primary job is it ensure she reaches home safe. Is there any lower we can fall?
For years, rapes have gone unreported primarily because women lack confidence in the systems that are supposed to ensure them justice. Such stories may scare women from further reaching out to police stations.
Madhya Pradesh records highest rape cases
Given the apathetic attitude of its policing machinery it is not surprising that Madhya Pradesh ranks right on top of the list of states when it comes to rapes.
According to the 2015 National Crime Records Bureau data, the state reported 4,391 cases, the highest in the country. Remember, these are just the reported cases. Many such victims would not even had the privilege of getting their complaints registered. Let's come to Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal from where the gang rape has been reported. Bhopal topped the list among the four main urban centres in the state - others being Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur - with 133 rape cases.
It may be difficult to understand what "provokes" men to rape. But it is amply clear why they don't care to resist the temptation to rape.
In keeping with our tradition of instant cover-ups, sub-inspector, RN Tekam, has been suspended for mocking the victim. A rape complaint has been filed - even though after an inordinate delay of 24 hours. Justice "served". Chapter closed.