Friday, January 13, 2017

When rape becomes a weapon against tribal women...

The National Human Rights Commission is to be congratulated for taking the first step, even though much delayed, to bring justice to tribal women in the Bastar region of Chattisgarh. Its interim report confirms, through its independent investigation carried out in March 2016, the horrific gang-rapes, rapes, sexual assault and separately, physical assault, by security forces on 16 tribal women in different incidents in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. The incidents occurred between October 19 and 24, 2015, in the villages of Pegdapalli, Chinnagelur, Peddagelur, Gundam and Burgicheru. According to the NHRC report, eight women were raped, six women were sexually assaulted and two women were physically assaulted by men in uniform. The NHRC has found the Chhattisgarh government "vicariously liable" and issued notice to it. It has also criticized the government for not adding the relevant clauses of the Prevention of Atrocities on SC and ST Act in the case. The NHRC has said that its investigation is ongoing into 20 more complaints.

Reported cases include the gang-rape of 13 tribal women in Bellam Lendra in Bijapur district and six women in Kunna village in Sukma in January 2016, bringing such cases of sexual crimes by security forces to 46 in just three months; and these, it must be remembered are only the reported cases. Hopefully the final report of the NHRC will include a strong recommendation to take action, prosecute and imprison the personnel responsible, including the police chief of the area, SRP Kalluri. He had termed the women as liars and said their allegations were all part of a Maoist plot to defame the security forces. Soon after the NHRC report was made public, he held a press conference where he threatened those who have been exposing the role of security forces in Bastar. It is he who should be behind bars instead of being given the Presidential medal for "good practices." The only good practice as far as he is concerned will be when the arm of the law throws him into jail where he belongs.

Soon after the occurrence of these mass crimes against tribal women, the group Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) had in its fact-finding report brought out the horrors that the tribal women had faced.Their complaint to the Collector said while a 14-year-old girl, who was grazing her cattle, was allegedly blindfolded and gang-raped, another victim, four months pregnant, was "repeatedly dunked in a stream and gang-raped". The complaint reported wide-scale loot and that the women were chased out of their homes. It alleged that the personnel later stripped and taunted the women. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Indian police accused of mass rape during operation...
  2. Two more tribal women in India stripped and forced to walk naked...
  3. Tribal girl in India forced to walk naked as crowd molested her
  4. Deaths in police custody go unpunished in India...
  5. India, where cops can be worse than criminals...
  6. 51 Indian soldiers accused of rape while peace-keeping in the Congo...
  7. 17 Indian police and forest officials convicted of gang-raping 18 Dalit...
  8. When low-caste Dalits in India are raped and killed by upper-caste thugs

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