More rape victims come out in Bulandshahr

BULANDSHAHR: Her face covered with a scarf, the 16-year-old arrived at the Bulandshahr police headquarters on Tuesday, accompanied by her father. A victim of alleged rape, she had come to seek proper investigation into her complaint.

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There were others, too. Women from different parts of the district, all alleged rape survivors and seeking justice.

The gang-rape of a 35-year-old woman and her minor daughter near this Uttar Pradesh town has turned into a rallying point for other victims of sexual assault, all of them hoping that the spotlight on the latest incident will also help them highlight their grievance against alleged police laxity.

Bulandshahr, a district headquarter town around 70km from Delhi, has seen a steady stream of top police officials, political leaders and media personnel since Saturday, a day after five members of a Noida-based family travelling to Shahjahanpur in a car were waylaid, their cash and other valuables looted before the two women were gang-raped.

The incident has sparked outrage across the country which introduced stringent laws to prevent sexual assault of women after the December 2012 gang rape and murder of a paramedical student in Delhi.

But for those present at the police headquarters on Tuesday, the laws mean very little without help from police.

“My daughter was lured and abducted by one of our neighbours. She was taken to Himachal Pradesh where she was raped in a hotel. The police have not added sections of rape to the FIR and not even conducted her medical examination,” the minor’s father said. The FIR was lodged at Pahasu on July 10. He alleged that police scared his daughter by saying that medical examination entails surgery.

“When other cases can be taken up on a priority and with such huge resources roped in, our case should also be taken up in a similar manner,” the father said.

Another rape survivor said she had come to seek a different investigating officer in her case of abduction and rape at Khurja in January.

“The accused is pressurising us to take back the case. We are getting threats from the accused persons and the police have not done anything in the case to protect us. The present investigating officer says that my case has no weight to take action against the accused,” she said.

“I came here as I heard that lot of senior officials are camping in Bulandshahr after the recent gang rape incident and thought they will hear our woes.”

Superintendent of police (rural) Pankaj Kumar Pandey said he has ordered changing the investigating officer.

“In case of the minor girl, the accused will be arrested today. I have directed the police station officers for immediate arrest. Sections of rape are also added to her FIR,” he said.

Apart from the victims of crime against women, some victims of other cases such as murder also visited police headquarters and requested the media to highlight their cases.

“I have come here in anticipation that those accused murdering my son will be arrested soon. Since media has highlighted the gang rape case, our case should also be heard at some level. However, there has been no arrest till date,” the father said.

Newly-appointed senior superintendent of police, Anees Ahmad Ansari, said that there will be no laxity in dealing with cases, especially in cases of crime against women.

“I have directed all officers to hear the complaints and to ensure that all victims get fair treatment and proper investigation. The FIRs must be properly registered and investigation carried out as per provisions. Other cases will also be monitored carefully,” he said.

In Delhi, BJP national secretary Srikant Sharma gave out statistics to highlight alleged lawlessness in the state.

UP tops the list in crime against women, he said, adding that 2,920 rape cases were reported between March, 2012 and March, 2016, besides 12,198 murders and 6,015 robberies.