Last week’s brutal rape and killing of a 15-yr-old threatens to rock the monsoon session
She must have resisted with all her frail strength, but the brutal force her killers used against her proved deadly for this Std IX student of Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district’s Karjat taluka on July 13 evening. The minor girl, who cycled out to get a pack of spice from her grandparents’ home, didn’t return home alive. She was found near a canal, her body mutilated. She was mercilessly raped before being strangled. It reminded her family and friends of Nirbhaya, who fell victim to perverts some years ago in New Delhi.
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The Kopardi minor, a budding athlete and bright student, is one of many victims of crimes against minors. Locals allege that there is a fourth accused, whom the police have not arrested so far.
In a more recent case, the father of a five-year-old, who was raped and killed at a resort in Lonavla, is fighting for justice. A 13-year-old girl from Mumbra was raped by local goons, who were arrested, but returned from jail to attack the victim and her family. The scared family has adopted, albeit reluctantly, an unfair method to protect their daughter from the prying eyes of her violators and other potential rapists. The family has tonsured the girl’s head to give her a different look altogether.
Some BJP leaders feel that the latest incident will not land them in big trouble as anticipated by the opposition, because the three main accused have already been arrested and will be made to face a fast-track trial. They say when they were in power, the Congress and the NCP, too, had their share of such heinous crimes against women, some of which remain unsolved.
Considering this opinion, the treasury benches and the opposition may routinely exchange angry barbs while debating the issue. It remains to be seen if they together find a way to protect our women and children, instead of settling for a temporary solution.
Will the legislature ensure that lawmakers and law enforcers act sensitively and responsibly in crimes against women and children? Politicians acted very late in the Kopardi case, but started politicising the crime promptly.
The heinous act is expected to rock the monsoon session of the legislature, beginning today, because of delayed arrest of the accused. One of the suspects is alleged to be a worker of minister Ram Shinde. Leader of the opposition Dhananjay Munde produced a picture in which one of the accused, Santosh Bhavar, is seen with Shinde. Munde alleged that the police did not arrest Bhavar promptly, although he was seen making his escape from the crime scene.
Shinde’s supporters have denied the minister’s link, saying the accused was not the person seen with Shinde.
Two other accused — Jitendra Shinde and N Bhailume — who, along with Bhavar, were chased by the citizens, were arrested much later.
While the Congress-NCP combine prepared to take the BJP to task, particularly Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who controls the state police, the Shiv Sena justified its authority in the home department, which came to it early this month in the cabinet reshuffle. Before the BJP could reach out to the victim’s family and pacify local protesters, Sena’s deputy leader Neelam Gorhe assured the distressed family that she would ensure a death penalty for the accused. She recalled how she had played a crucial role in the two similar cases — in Navi Mumbai and Vihitgaon (Nashik) — in getting the accused death sentences.
Gorhe scored over a senior BJP leader, Vijaya Rahatkar, who, as the head of Maharashtra Women’s Commission, shot into prominence for serving a notice to Bollywood star Salman Khan for saying he felt like a raped woman while shooting wrestling scenes of his latest blockbuster. We hadn’t heard anything from Rahatkar or her colleagues in the commission about the Kopardi case till Sunday afternoon.
Is it that the BJP leaders, senior ministers and local Ahmednagar leaders like Shinde expect no one else but only Fadnavis to face the heat in any matter that the opposition and the media take up?
Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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