Not a minor problem

 

 

Maharashtra has suddenly become the favourite state for women molestors. In a series of incidents that have rocked the conservative Maharashtrian society, women suddenly appear to be under attack. If the Juhu molestation incident in Mumbai had stirred the nation's conscience with some people pointing fingers at the provocative dressing style of urban women, what happened in rural Maharastra has put question marks on the theory that women have to be `properly clad to be safe. In Dawangaon, a small village with a population of 2,500, in the state's Latur district is certainly not a case of provocative dressing. On December 31, 2007, a 14-year old girl from a minority community was gang-raped and killed, leading to riots in the communally sensitive Udgir, a prominent city situated close to Dawangaon.

At first, the police was reluctant to lodge an FIR as one of the main accused, Shivajirao Mule, is a member of a local self-government body affiliated to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). That one of his co-accused shares his last name with local MLA Chandrashekhar Bhosale also had the police hesitating. It was only after the victim's community NGO, the Bagwan Mahasangh's intervention that the complaint was filed against six people. But the damage was done. Udgir witnessed incidents of arson and riots which brought the city to a standstill for the first three days of 2008. Sensational media stories, without any attribution, further aggravated the situation.

According to the police, the incident took place when Taslimabi Bagwan, daughter of Khwajasaab Mohammed Saab Bagwan, was returning home when she was waylaid and raped by six accused, Pradeep Patil, Vijaykumar Patale, Sunil Bhaksarakhe, Kamalakar Bhende, Mohan Bhosale and Shivajirao Mule. The victim’s younger brother was witness to the crime. In an attempt to cover their trail, they killed Taslimabi by hanging her from a tree.

After much dithering, the police were forced to exhume the body and perform an autopsy. It was only after a categorical assurance from administration that the case would be treated on top priority, did Udgir fall silent and normalcy restored.

Typically, as it happens in such cases, the tragic human angle has long faded into the background What remains now is the communal and sleaze theories and tales of small time politicians - inevitably linked to the big - who are trying to make capital while the sun shines. The accused, connected to local influential families, are reportedly trying to `hush up' the matter by flexing their political muscles or by resorting to outright bribery and graft. There is also pressure on the victims to withdraw their complaint and charges. The agonised victim's family say they are being discriminated against and intimidated on grounds of their religion. As happens in communal riot situations, the main culprits taking advantage of the confusion and terror, get time to escape. Though five of them have been nabbed, prime accused Mule, a reasonably heavy local political figure, is still absconding. Local NGOs and some social organisations have demanded a CID probe but the administration has declined to comply on the grounds that local policemen were capable of solving the crime.

In neighbouring Ahmednagar district, the rape and murder of a 13-year-old minor girl has roused the denizens out of their slumber. The victim was raped and burnt to death by her kin. In both the cases the victims were minors, belonged to poor families and were known to their molesters and, most importantly, belonged to the rural areas. Surely no case of being under-dressed here.