By M L Satyan

Bengaluru: The hot news from the country’s capital these days is the rape and gruesome murder of a nine-year-old Dalit girl on August 1. The alleged rape and murder case of an innocent girl in a crematorium in the Delhi Cantonment area, the matter of killing her and cremating her without informing the family has started gaining a momentum.

In the protest against this incident, some local people have started agitation by staging a sit-in outside the crematorium.

According to the information, Delhi Police said that a minor girl was cremated at the Old Nangal crematorium on August 1 night. Based on the statement of the mother of the girl, an FIR was registered. The Forensic Science Laboratory and Crime Branch team took samples from the spot.

The four arrested by the Police have been identified as Radheshyam, a priest of the crematorium and his three colleagues Salim, Laxmi Narayan and Kuldeep. They have been charged with burning the dead body after the gang rape and murder case.

According to the girl’s father, his daughter went to the cremation ground to get water at around 5:30 pm, after which she did not return. The priest sent some people and called his wife and told her that her daughter is no more. The crematorium priest Radhey Shyam told the girl’s mother that the body on the pyre was her daughter’s. He told the mother that her daughter had been electrocuted while using the water cooler and he had decided to cremate her.

Further, the priest seems to have said to the girl’s mother, “There is no need to call the police and the doctor. Here we will perform the last rites of the girl.” The mother was asked to sign a paper. But she refused to do so. The victim’s family has accused the priest and three other people with him of forcibly performing the last rites of the girl. As per the victim’s family the priest said that if the matter reaches the police, then the body will be sent for post-mortem, and doctors will extract its vital organs and sell them.

The other story is that the girl’s parents were beaten up and they were asked to accept 20,000 rupees and keep quiet. They were threatened of dire consequences if they go to the Police.

Around 200 villagers reached the crematorium on that night and staged a sit-in until the next evening, demanding that the arrested be booked for rape and murder. Some politicians had also joined the dharna demanding justice for the girl and her family. Delhi Chef Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too met the girl’s parents and comforted them. They have assured them that they will stand with them in their fight for justice.

The Delhi Police have registered a case under sections 302, 376, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and pertinent sections of the SC/ST Act. No one knows what will be the consequence of these cases.

The protest is going on in a small scale. As usual, the mainstream media has not highlighted this incident. Please recall what happened in 2012 in Delhi. The Nirbhaya incident was followed by spontaneous nation-wide (also world-wide) protests, candle-light marches, rallies and meetings etc. After this, many were under the impression that rape will come to a “sudden halt” all over India.

It is sad and shocking that we have witnessed several rape incidents like Unnao case in 2017; Kathua case in 2018; Hyderabad case in 2019 and Hathras case in 2020. Besides these cases, there have been numerous other rape incidents in UP, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Kerala during 2020-2021.

Today no place seems to be safe for women. Shockingly, there have been incidents of rape that have occurred in a family/home environment involving a father, brother or relative. Also, we have witnessed rape incidents inside a temple or church/convent campus. Today, women live with constant fear and they do not feel safe as expressed below:

• Girl children are worried about their safety within their own homes.
• Homemaker women are worried about their safety when they are at home.
• Working women are worried about their safety at their workplaces.
• School/college/university girl students are worried about their safety within their campus.
• The resident girl children of Child Care Centers are worried about their safety within their places of residence.
• Female patients are worried about their safety within a hospital.
• Women travelers are worried about their safety in a travel environment.
• Women devotees are worried about their safety in an ashram environment.
• Women religious are worried about their safety within their own convents/congregations.

Even after 74 years of Independence, the country’s women are not safe. Oppression of the lower caste, indifference to women and the silence of the mainstream, are among the many hard-hitting truths exposed by the Delhi Cantonment gang-rape and forced cremation case.

The grim reality of the incident is a proof that social media outrage and hashtags do not translate to on-ground change. There are enough statistical reports to prove that women in India are at risk, their lives are at risk and not enough is being done to ensure their safety.

This is the country where elections are fought with catchy slogans like ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (Save the girl child, teach the girl child). This slogan of the ruling BJP government has become meaningless today. India continues to remain an unsafe space for women. We do not need slogans, hashtags or campaigns to save us. We need HUMANITY. Is it not everyone’s responsibility? It is high time for introspection and action.