Regular reports on rape cases in Rajasthan have sent shockwaves in the country, questioning the state government’s inactivity to curb crimes against women. Rajasthan is currently plagued with cases of brutal rape including gang rape and cases of sexual violence against women and the eerie silence of the government has made the matter worse. As per a report, Rajasthan recorded a frightening 81% rise in rape cases in 2019 as compared to the previous two years.
The horrifying rape cases in 2021 so far suggest that minors are the biggest victims of sexual violence in the state. Jaskaur Meena, BJP leader from Rajasthan made some shocking revelations in the Parliament proceedings recently. Jaskaur Meena alleged that there are currently 6.14 lakhs cases of violence against women in Rajasthan and 23 such cases are in her own constituency. She added that “There are 12,000 rape cases alone in the State and the government has been silent on the issue”.
Sensing the silence of the government on the issues, some social media users have taken it upon themselves to raise awareness on the increased cases of crime against women. A Twitter user has started to compile all the reports pertaining to sexual abuse and rape cases in Rajasthan, and the trend seems to be catching on. The thread which is just 5 days old has already shared 22 cases of rape and sexual violence, sourced from local media reports.
𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬
— Abhishek Sharma (@Wo_Sharma_Ji) March 19, 2021
I’ll update every new Rape case in Rajasthan here so that people can see how worse the situation is.
More users have taken to social media to raise their voices, but no level of noise is enough to wake the government from their deep slumber. Certainly, while more cases are being reported and investigated to deliver justice, there seems to be no solution to bring about a change in the mindset to curb crime against women, especially minors.
Another Patrika report shared by a user raised alarms as it compiled some of the most brutal instances of gang rape and sexual violence against minors in the state. Gang-rape of a minor in Jhunjhunu, sexual abuse of a 6-year old in Sri Ganganagar, kidnapping and gang-rape of a minor in Alwar, Nagaur’s rape case where the perpetrator filmed the act for two years, are all crimes reported that reflect the grim situation in the state.
Rajasthan DGP, when asked by the media about the increased cases of rape in Rajasthan, said that the availability of smartphones for online classes during lockdown might have encouraged the kids to watch sexual content such as porn, and hence parents need to keep an eye on the content consumed by their children using smartphones. This comment did not go down well with the netizens.
Incidents of crime against women are rising.Police is taking action…In Jhunjhunu case,it emerged that accused use to see porn&consume drugs.Due to online classes due to COVID,children now use smartphones,it may be that after classes they indulge in such things: Rajasthan DGP pic.twitter.com/z5elxm28Nr
— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2021
The NCRB 2019 report revealed that Rajasthan tops in rape cases with 19% of country-wide cases reported from the state and 10% of cases coming from just 12 districts.
While there has been constant pressure from the opposition on the current government, there seems to be no formal communication coming from the ruling party regarding the lawlessness in the state.