The gangrape of a Dalit woman in Alwar in Rajasthan and the unpardonable failure of the police to get cracking on the case after the woman mustered the courage to complain reveals the abysmal state of the law and order machinery. The crime was perpetrated along a deserted stretch of road by five men on April 26 who also recorded videos and started blackmailing the woman. Despite her complaint on May 2, the survivor’s family alleges that the second phase of polling on May 6 prompted the police to hush up the matter.
If true, this is a serious charge and must be probed further. Political control over the police has led to such abominations and yet this stranglehold has endured despite Supreme Court entreaties to pursue police reforms. It was only after a video of the assault went viral on Monday and protests by Dalit groups that police made the first arrest on Tuesday. The police have tried to pin the delay on staff shortage due to poll duty but this is unacceptable.
The BJP has joined the protests that have ensued and this has put the state Congress government under massive pressure. But BJP would do well to remember its own feeble response to lawlessness in Alwar — once known as the epicentre of the gauraksha movement in India. The narrative of weak response to crimes against women spans the entire country with ghastly reports of abuse having emerged from Kathua in Jammu, Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Pollachi in Tamil Nadu in recent times. But if police forces continue to look away as crimes are committed the buck must stop with the political leadership, which simply shows no interest in undertaking police reforms.
Read full story: Alwar horror: ‘They took turns raping her, ordeal went on for 3 hours’