What’s the right punishment for rapists?
The answer to that would be controversial, I am sure. A crime like rape takes away so much from a girl that it can’t be described and the strength that is needed to stand up against and after it, isn’t easy either. So, to lead a person to such circumstances certainly deserves a no-mercy punishment. But Bhopal police showed a never-seen-before sight to the public in a recent rape case.
The city police arrested four men on Sunday for allegedly raping a 20-year-old college student. The incident took place on Saturday evening. The woman lodged a complaint with the Maharana Pratap (MP) Nagar Police Station on Sunday morning and the accused were arrested within one hour after the complaint was lodged, as revealed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Dharmendra Choudhary. They were paraded through the busy streets by the police.
While the accused were being paraded, some women among the onlookers were seen thrashing them.
Recently, Madhya Pradesh government came under fire for an increase in crime against women and so, the police in the state have taken to parading habitual eve-teasers or those accused of sexual offences through the streets.
The DIG said that 21-year-old Shailendra Dangi, who is also the victim’s senior in her college, called her to a restaurant in the MP Nagar locality. As per her complaint, after she met him, they had a fight. Shailendra snatched her cell phone and took her to his friend Sonu Dangi’s room near Apsara cinema.
According to the victim’s statement, Sonu Dangi (21), Dhiraj Rajput (26) and Chiman Rajput (25) were already present in the room. Shailendra and Dhiraj threatened to kill her and her family and raped her, while Sonu and Chiman helped the duo, she told police.
She said that afterwards they let her go, but warned not to disclose the incident to anyone.
These four men were booked for gang-rape, additional superintendent of police Vikas Kumar Sahwal said. IPC sections 376 (rape), 376 (d) (gang-rape) and 365 (kidnapping) were pressed against them. DIG Choudhary said that the accused have confessed to the crime.
When asked why the police are taking this action of parading the accused through the busy streets, Bhopal Inspector General of Police Jaideep Kumar said “it has boosted women’s confidence, and they are now coming forward to lodge complaints in such cases. The parading has instilled a fear in offenders,” he added.
Although punishments like these are not enough because rapists have already lost all the respect and humanity so, they are actually the epitome of shamelessness but if it helps women on the street feel empowered then let’s just say, it’s a good start. What do you think?
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