By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
Muzaffarnagar/Shamli: Within days of rape of two cousins in Uttar Pradesh’ Badaun district, police and administration was forced to act in haste after the mainstream media was abuzz and they arrested the culprits as also suspended the principal secretary (home). It’s been nine months now to the infamous communal riots in Muzaffarnagar-Shamli districts though, and there has been little – if any – progress made in the eight registered cases of rapes.
There are seven registered cases of gang rapes during the riot and later another girl from Jogia-Kheda camp was raped. In the seven reported cases of rapes during the riot, earlier 42 persons were named as accused by the vicitms, but the police later dropped about 20 names claiming that they were falsely named. There are still 22 persons named as accused together in all these cases, but so far only two persons – Ved Pal and Rocky – have been arrested. In the subsequent eight registered case, two accused persons Sachin and Sunil Kumar were immediately gheraoed by the people and arrested, as the victim’s younger sister had seen them dragging her and had immediately informed the villagers.
Her father, 54 year Rafique (name changed), who has five children, has not got the compensation that other rape victims are entitled to as she was not raped during the riots. He wonders that when the kin of victims in Badaun could get rs 5 lakh compensation, why was it denied to his daughter.
Seated in front is one of the victims, along with her young sister and her father, 54 year old at Jogia Kheda. At back is the 45 year old rape victim.
It should be mentioned here that there are reports of several rapes – some estimate it to be in 100 – but for fear of harassment and “shame it would bring,” most of them hence preferred to be silent.
Police claims that most of them are absconding or that when they raided they could not find them in houses, but many of these accused are openly found to be talking to media persons and issuing statements. In fact the day TCN visited Muzaffarnagar district, a Hindi daily had an accused demanding CBI probe.
When TCN asked Neyaz Ahmed (name changed), husband of one of the rape victims, if they too would demand CBI probe since there has been little headway, he said that he is not against any investigation, but added, “The accused persons are using all sorts of delaying tactics and want to buy time to coerce us into dropping cases.”
“Police should first of all arrest all the accused persons and then they can have any sort of probe they want,” he told TCN.
Of the eight rape victims, TCN met five of them on this trip alone and everyone echoed the harassment and threats they have been receiving. All the victims also questioned the dubious role of the woman Investigating Officer Mala Yadav, who they alleged has “good money from Jat accused.” Yadav, they claimed asked them several times to drop cases and used “all sorts of coercive tactics and harassment,” almost all of them said.
Although Yadav denies all charges, one of the accused petitioner, Shabana (name changed) has now written a letter to UP CM Akhilesh Yadav requesting to him to change the IO
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