26.12.12

Aftermath of the brutal gangrape





Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has, without spelling out the details, promised speedy action after protests against the gangrape of a young woman led to violent clashes between students and the police in the heart of Delhi over the past two days. In a televised address to the nation, Singh appealed for calm and said, “I assure you we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women in this country. As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly about this as each one of you. My wife, my family and I are all joined in our concern for the young woman who was the survivor of this heinous crime.” But Singh’s address, coming as it did eight days after the gruesome incident on December 16, appeared to do little to assuage the protestors. Even as the police barricaded roads leading to India Gate, public outrage over the incident showed little signs of ebbing as protestors, mostly students, continued to congregate at Jantar Mantar, though the crowds were thinner. Security personnel kept Rajpath, the stretch linking India Gate and Raisina Hill leading to Rashtrapati Bhavan, locked down with barricades and heavy deployment of personnel with riot gear.





No traffic was allowed around India Gate and nine Delhi Metro stations were closed down. This led to massive traffic jams, especially in central Delhi. Many meetings had to be cancelled and even government officials and ministers found it difficult to reach their offices. The chaos in the city overshadowed an official visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The government was forced to shift the venue of the meeting between Singh and Putin from Hyderabad House to the high-security residential complex of the prime minister at 7, Race Course Road. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde met the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and requested him to set up fast-track courts to deal with crime against women, particularly the recent gangrape.
However,Shinde appeared to complicate matters for the beleaguered government when he bracketed the protestors with armed Maoists and ruled out negotiations. “It is very easy to ask the home minister to go to India Gate and talk. Tomorrow, if any other party’s demonstration goes on, why should not the home minister go there? Tomorrow Congress and BJP will demonstrate, tomorrow Maoists will come here to demonstrate with weapons,” Shinde said in several interviews.
The initiative to set up fast-track courts to deal with crimes against women may be extended to the whole country, minister of state in charge of information and broadcasting Manish Tiwari said.
The PM added that the safety of women and children was a high priority for his government. “We will examine without delay not only the responses to this terrible crime but also all aspects concerning the safety of women and children and punishment to those who commit these monstrous crimes. Our government will keep you informed of the steps we are taking and the processes we are following.” “I also feel deeply sad at the turn of events leading to clashes between protestors and police forces. Anger at this crime is justified but violence will serve no purpose. I appeal to all concerned citizens to maintain peace and calm,” the prime minister added.
The Opposition stepped up its attack on the government, demanding an all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament to discuss harsher punishment for sexual assault. However, the government ruled out an all-party meeting or a special session, announcing instead a three member committee headed by retired Justice JS Verma to suggest amendments in law for quicker trials and enhanced punishment for criminals in such cases. Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, and Gopal Subramaniam, former Solicitor General of India, are the other members of the committee.




“In the light of the recent incident, the government has given anxious consideration to the need for reviewing the present laws to provide for speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault,” a statement from the home ministry said. The committee will submit its report within 30 days.
Even as the government scrambled for damage control, the condition of the victim deteriorated and she remained in a critical condition at Safdarjung Hospital. “She is still in a critical condition and not out of danger,” doctors said. “She showed some tendency for internal bleeding last night. In simple terms, she has reduced capacity for coagulation (the process by which blood forms clots)... She is not as good as yesterday. She continues to be on ventilator support,” said Medical Superintendent Dr BD Athani.
Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna, who cut short his vacation in the US and returned on Sunday night, met the police commissioner and issued suspension orders against two assistant commissioners of police. “We have suspended two ACPs — Mohan Singh Dabas (Traffic) and Yagram (PCR). I have instructed the police commissioner to seek explanation from DCPs Premnath (Traffic) and Satbir Kataria (PCR) and will decide on further action after that,” Khanna said.


As the protest at India Gate turned violent, father of the 23-year-old victim appealed for calm. Though he wants protests to continue till the government comes up with a stricter law against rape, he wants it to be a peaceful one. He also demanded death penalty for the accused.
“I appeal to the people supporting her to not indulge in violence. I want them to support us peacefully and pray for my daughter's recovery. I appeal to all to refrain from vandalism and help the police, so that the process of capturing and sentencing the culprits is successful,’’ said the victim’s father, who works as a loader with a private firm at IGI airport, in a television interview.
With her condition fluctuating, her family is praying that she makes it. “My daughter is conscious. She is a fighter. She has overcome many obstacles, be it poverty or in her studies, and she will keep fighting,’’ said her father. But he wants her daughter’s tormentors to get death penalty. “They should be given capital punishment. If they remain alive and are later freed, they will again commit such crimes. It will be injustice if they get a lesser punishment,’’ he said. The massive public support has given the family hope that things will change. “We don’t want anybody else to go through the same thing. The law should be so tough and punishment so harsh that men don’t dare to do this with any other girl. We support the protest, but it should be peaceful. We don’t want anybody to get hurt,’’ her younger brother said.
The last one week has been really tough for the family. While her condition is deteriorating by the day, the family is hoping that she will survive and are worried about the future. “We want the best doctors to treat her. If there is a need, she should be taken abroad for treatment. We want her to live,’’ said her younger brother.

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