E-Paper
Patna HC raps Bihar govt for slow progress in cases of gang rapes of minors
The court's observations came on an email complaint that child protection specialist of Unicef, Mansoor Qadri had sent to the Chairperson, Patna High Court Committee of Juvenile Justice and POCSO on January 15.
The Patna high court has rapped the Bihar government on the knuckles for its slackness in two recent cases of gang rape of minors in Muzaffarpur and Madubani districts and the murder of one of them and attempts by the perpetrators to destroy evidence of the crime.
Acting on an email complaint from child protection specialist of Unicef, Mansoor Qadri, a division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Karol on January 27 ordered for converting the complaint into a public interest litigation (PIL) and asked the authorities to file their reply within a week.
A 16-year girl was allegedly raped by four men and burnt alive in Sahebganj area of Muzaffapur on January 11. Another girl of the same age, who is hearing and speech impaired was gang raped on January 12 and her eyes were severely damaged after the rapists shoved a sharp wooden object. Moved by the manner in which the criminals raped the minors and tried to destroy the evidence, Qadri had sent an email to the Chairperson, Patna High Court Committee of Juvenile Justice and POCSO on January 15.
“…the State agency appears to have adopted a very casual approach and has not shown the urgency, unlike the urgency shown in the murder of IndiGo manager (Rupesh Kumar Singh) in Patna,” the court remarked, asking the officials concerned to file a reply on this matter while fixing February 10 as the next date of hearing.
The division bench noted that “in both the cases, the crime has become more vicious, as the perpetrators not only committed the crime, but also attempted to destroy all the evidence by burning to death one of the victims and snatching away the vision of the second survivor. The manner, in which the crimes have been committed against the minor girls, is shocking.”
“Considering the gravity of the offence and ever-increasing incidents of violence against young girls of Bihar, we take cognizance of the e-mail of Qadri and the same may be treated as a writ petition. Issue notice to all the respondents and are directed to submit a report within a week,” the order said.
The order further stated that “It is not a mere matter of violation of an ordinary right of a person, but the violation of the fundamental rights. Rape is an offence, which is violative of the fundamental right of a person guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Rape is a crime not only against the person of a woman, it is a crime against the entire society.”
Prakirtita Sharma has been appointed as Amicus Curiae in this case.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Saraiya, Rajesh Kumar Sharma, under whose jurisdiction the minor was gang raped and burnt alive, refused to disclose the progress made by the police in this case. However, a senior officer of Harlakhi police station of Madhubani said that three persons had been arrested in connection with rape and attempt to blind the girl in the district.
Leaders of opposition parties including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Prem Chandra Mishra of the Congress had cornered chief minister Nitish Kumar over the rapes and asked him to quit if he was feeling too tired and exhausted to protect young girls.
