School denies admission to gang rape victim

Published: Friday, Mar 29, 2013, 3:30 IST  By Prasanta Mazumdar | Place: GUWAHATI | Agency: DNA

In a move bound to raise eyebrows, a school in Meghalaya has reportedly denied admission to a girl who was gang raped. Harassed by people in her hometown Williamnagar following the incident, the victim relocated to Tura in the state’s Western Garo Hills to avoid humiliation and pursue studies but only to be denied admission by at least one school there. The victim, a 16-year-old student of class IX, has now been kept at an unspecified location by the authorities to protect her from public glare. Her parents have been allegedly threatened by some people to withdraw the case. Seventeen people, including eight juveniles, have been arrested in connection with the case. Two of the accused are relatives of a minister and a surrendered militant leader. The incident of gang rape took place in December last when the girl was returning home along with a friend from a festival in Williamnagar. “We are not aware of the denial of admission by the school to the girl. However, exemplary action will be taken against the school if it is found guilty,” Western Garo Hills deputy commissioner Prabin Bakshi told DNA. Social organisations in the state have expressed concern over the threat to the girl’s life.  But Bakshi claimed she was in ‘safe hands’. “She is safe. She is in a hostel and is being looked after by Meghalaya State Women Commission. They are now in the process of finding a school for her,” he said. Asked about the alleged threats to the parents, Bakshi said, “We have come to know about the alleged threats. However, we are yet to receive any formal complaint.” “Trial in the case is going on a very fast pace. All efforts are being made to ensure that it goes on in a free and fair manner,”he added. A women’s group has slammed the authorities for allegedly protecting a minister. “Such crimes will continue. The people involved are very influential. The policemen are public servants. But in this case, they are protecting a minister. So, where is justice then,” asked Agnes Kharshing, president of Civil Society Women Organisation. Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_school-denies-admission-to-gang-rape-victim_1816748

Delhi gang rape trial sparks Indian media frenzy

Digital media have been barred, but print journalists wait outside to swarm lawyers, the accused and their families

BY MARY KENNEY

Indian children participate in a protest against child abuse and rising crimes against women, in Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, March 16, 2013. (Credit: AP/Biswaranjan Rout)

This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.

NEW DELHI, India — Across town from the district courthouse, employees of Ambedkar University’s Center for Community Knowledge argued about India’s most infamous trial.

“The defense lawyers are saying, ‘well, you know, she was out late,’” said Ranjani Prasad, 24, gesturing with her hands and clearly irritated.

Her co-worker, 26-year-old Anoushka Mathews, nodded thoughtfully and crossed her arms. “It might actually work,” she said. “The judge might listen to that.”

On trial are four of the six men accused of gang raping a young woman on a New Delhi bus in December, a crime that made headlines around the world and forced a typically uninterested Indian judicial system to take action.

One of the two not being tried is 17 years old and in juvenile court. The other is Ram Singh, the bus driver branded as the group’s ringleader. He was found hanging by a noose tied from prison clothes in his cell on March 11.

The victim, Jyoti Singh Pandey, 23, was brutally beaten, raped, tortured and then left for dead. She later succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital.

The crime — and now the trial — has brought the issue of sexual violence into the public sphere in India like never before. Reacting to the public uproar, the government passed a law in March allowing the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rapes that led to a victim’s death, such as the Pandey case.

The case has for months been splashed across Indian newspapers and broadcasts, and has inspired news features on sexual assaults. The scene both inside and outside the courtroom is frenzied. Digital media have been barred, but print journalists wait outside to swarm lawyers, the accused and their families.

Manohar Lal Sharma, one of the defense lawyers, stops every time to feed quotes to the hungry press. He has become famous for his angry outbursts and controversial remarks, blaming the victim for the attack. Earlier this week, he stormed out of the courtroom, furious that authorities wanted to bring one of the defendants, who had been hospitalized with chest pains, back to court to stand trial.

“They have no sympathy for Mukesh,” Sharma complained to a group of journalists, referring to Mukesh Singh, the bus driver Ram’s brother.

Sharma, along with Singh’s parents, believe Ram’s death was murder, not suicide. They cite the injuries reported on his hands and the fact that he was under a suicide watch. He shared his cell with three other men, and it seems suspicious, the family says, that they all claim to have slept through his hanging.

Sharma said the police are now being irresponsible again, trying to yank Mukesh from his hospital bed to sit in a courtroom.

“One person they have murdered,” he told the gathered journalists, shaking his head, “and now they’re doing it to another one.”

Vijay Sansanwal, another defense lawyer, wrote off the possibility that Ram Singh was murdered. Ram had three children and a wife who left him after the details of the case came out, he said. He nodded, as if that explained everything.

The trial is on hold until the question of whether Mukesh is healthy enough to stand trial is resolved. In the meantime, speculation continues about how the case will ultimately unfold.

Among the Indian public, few feel any sympathy for any of the defendants. Though many support the government’s new law to impose the death penalty, some fear it could backfire.

Sagolsem Pavel Meitei and Priyanka Singh are master’s students in gender studies. They worry that implementing the death penalty or castration, another suggestion from the public, would make the conviction rate for sexual assaults plummet.

Pavel worries the men could be found not guilty because the burden of proof is so much higher in a trial that carries a sentence of capital punishment.

“Plus [the accused] have sympathy points,” Priyanka added. “They say, ‘look, one has already killed himself.’”

Priyanka doesn’t believe the men will be put to death. She thinks the case will be drawn out as political parties use it to garner popularity.

Pavel spoke rapidly and had to pause several times to gather his thoughts about Pandey’s trial and the larger issue of sexual assault.

“It isn’t just about justice for her,” Pavel said. “It’s about changing how sexual assault is seen in India.”
Priyanka interrupted him, “This concept of women in distress, so passive and weak … it’s just pathetic. It doesn’t help in any way. It victimizes the women again.”

Source: http://www.salon.com/2013/03/28/delhi_gang_rape_trial_sparks_media_frenzy_in_india_partner/

Swiss Woman Gangraped in MP, 20 Detained

Madhya Pradesh, DATIA (MP) | MAR 16, 2013: 

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A Swiss female tourist on a cycling trip with her husband was gangraped by seven to eight people at a forest area in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh, police said today. Twenty people have been detained on the basis of suspicion and are being questioned in connection with the incident, DIG(Chambal range) D K Arya told PTI.

A rape case has been registered, police said, adding that seven to eight unidentified persons were involved in the crime. No arrest has been made so far. The incident took place at Jharia village, eight km near Datia town, at around 9pm last night when the 39-year-old woman along with her husband was touring the region on a bicycle as part of their India tour.

The couple--who are adventure tourists-- was camping at a forest area for the night while on their way back from Orchha, home to temples of Lord Ram, and were proceeding to Agra when they were attacked.

The woman was allegedly gangraped in the presence of her husband, police said.

The victim was rushed to Gwalior, about 100 km from here, and her medical tests in a hospital have confirmed rape, police sources said. 

"They (the couple) were coming from Orchha on a bicycle and they decided to stay in a forest. A lot of tourists throng the area. They were beaten up by a few people who took away their laptops," said M L Dhody, a Sub-Divisional police officer.

"We are scouring the forest area in search of those involved in the crime," Datia SP C S Solanki told PTI.

The Chairperson of National Commission for Women Mamta Sharma said the MP government should take the incident very seriously and demanded strictest punishment to the culprits.

Leader of Opposition in MP Assembly Ajay Singh said the incident was a "blot" on the BJP government's name and also put the state in poor light abroad.

Source: http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=792566

Activists shocked and suspicious

TNN | Mar 12, 2013, 02.13 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Ram Singh's custodial death has appalled many. Activists and women's groups who had taken part in the protests following the Nirbhaya gang-rape are shocked at the scale of security lapse in Tihar Jail. They also find Singh's alleged suicide "extremely suspicious".

The secretary of All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA), Kavita Krishnan, feels that Singh could have been a source for a lot of information about the illegal operations in the transport sector. "Now our access to that information is also closed."

Sucheta De, a student leader, echoes similar concerns. "A custodial death is an interruption in the trial. He could have directed us to serious illegalities and lapses in the public transport system. But, justice should follow now."

Annie Raja of National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) fears that it will slow down the trial. "This incident should not delay the trial. It's a mysterious death and has raised a number of questions about the functioning of prison authorities. They have clearly failed."

Sunny Kumar, a member of All India Students Association (AISA) that mobilized hundreds of students to the protests, says this is just another reminder of how the process of investigation and trial is not taken seriously. "It's a mysterious development but it should not overshadow a swift and fair trial."

Delhi high court lawyer Vrinda Grover assures that the death will not adversely impact the case or the culpability of rest of the accused.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Activists-shocked-and-suspicious/articleshow/18918255.cms

Statistics: Rape Conviction Rates Across India

By Saptarishi Dutta and Aditi Malhotra

A graphic showing the conviction rate of rape cases in India in 2011. 

A “Rape Map of India,” posted on India Real Time Thursday looked at the number of reported rape cases in India in 2011.

Today, we are adding data from the National Crime Records Bureau on the rate of conviction in rape cases in each state around the country. Some 15,423 rape cases were decided countrywide in 2011.

Of the total number of cases that made to court, the overall rate of convictions stand at 26.4%, or 4,072 convictions while 11,351 acquittals were recorded. These included cases pending from previous years as well.

In 2010, 14,263 cases of rape were decided, with the accused being convicted in 3,788 cases, or 26.6%.

According to the data, the small northeastern state of Manipur recorded a 100% conviction rate in rape trials in 2011.

India is far from unique in its overall conviction rate, which many activists deplore as low. This 2008 Washington Post story looks at the low rape conviction rate in the U.K.

Note: The graphic excludes Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. 

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/01/04/statistics-conviction-rates-for-rape-across-india/