‘Beti’ is not safe in Yogi’s UP

The spate of crime against women, particularly incidents of rape/gangrape, in Uttar Pradesh are worrisome. It seems there is no fear of law in the minds of criminals. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath speaks of establishing ‘Ram Rajya’, but the facts belie this claim. The ruling BJP had promised to fix the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the country’s largest state population wise. Four years later, the results are for all to see.

On April 4, a four-year-old girl was raped in a village in Rudauli Kotwali area of

Ayodhya. The child was found in a critical condition by the family and admitted to district hospital. The police have arrested one Gyanu on the complaint of the victim’s family.

Earlier on April 2, a case of gang rape with a class 10 student was reported in Sardhana, Meerut. The girl was going for tuition when four youths from the village, including one of her batchmates, kidnapped and gangraped her. The girl later died at a hospital. The police said she ended her life, though her family has alleged that the accused poisoned her. The postmortem report is still awaited. Police have arrested one Lakhan in this case while the rest are still at large.

On the same day, a case of rape-cum-murder of an 11-year-old girl was reported from in Deoband town of Saharanpur. The girl went missing around 11 pm. On scanning CCTV footage, the police found that a man named Tanveer had taken the girl with him. Tanveer has admitted to the crime. The post-mortem report confirmed the rape.

On March 29, a case of gangrape of a Dalit minor girl was reported from a village in Hathras. According to the information, the 16-year-old girl was kidnapped from outside by three people. The trio allegedly gangraped the girl and released her the next day. On reaching home, the teenager narrated her ordeal to the family.

Initially, the police did not take any action. The police swung into action only after media reported the matter. A case has been registered under the POCSO and SC/ST Act.

On March 26, two brothers broke into a house and raped a 15-year-old girl in Shahabad police station area of

Rampur. The police registered a case against the accused Shivam and Pawan on the complaint of the victim's mother. Both have been arrested.

On March 22, a class 10 student went missing under suspicious circumstances in Hapur. Days later her body was found outside a Noida hospital.

On March 11, a case of rape of a minor by a tempo driver was reported from Moradabad. On March 10, a 13-year-old girl was raped in Kanpur. The girl had gone to the fields to fetch fodder for the cattle. A few men, led by the son of a UP police sub-inspector, waylaid the girl and raped her. The boy also threatened the girl and her family with his father’s clout and told them to not report the matter, the victim’s family has accused.

Later, the police arrested Dipu Yadav, Saurabh Yadav and Golu Yadav and booked them for rape.

On March 4, a case of gangrape of a minor girl by a group of boys came to light in Gorakhpur. The girl worked as a dancer in a local orchestra group. According to the information, the victim was returning home after a programme when the boys forcibly took her to a house and raped her.

When the victim approached the police with the help of some locals, the police refused to register an FIR on her complaint. After the matter came to the notice of the district police chief (SSP), he suspended two policemen, including the police station in-charge, for negligence of duty. The SSP got the FIR registered and the accused arrested.

In early March, a six-year-old girl was abducted by a man from outside her house just as the girl stepped out in Muzaffarnagar’s Janasath. Her body was recovered from a septic tank. The girls’ parents, Mohsin and Rani, are inconsolable. Police have arrested two accused.

These are some of the incidents that came to the light. Many incidents go unreported. The ‘Beti’ (daughter) is not safe in UP. The CM owes a moral responsibility.