NEW DELHI: Women rights activists Monday slammed the Noida police for their superintendent of police (SP) naming a gangrape victim at a press conference, and said the police clearly violated the law and norms.
"Indian Police are the only force in the world who directly blame the victim. Instead of going for investigation, the police are going with their habit of blaming the victim. This is the most ridiculous way of thinking," Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research, told IANS.
"This time, they (police) have gone to the extent of revealing the name of the victim without thinking of the social stigma. This amounts to violating the law of land and the concerned officers should be taken to task," Kumari added.
The Noida police Sunday arrested four youths for raping a 16-year-old girl.
While the first information report (FIR) mentioned the girl was raped while returning from her father's shop in Sector-12 Friday when she met the accused Himanshu, Rahul and Sunil, police superintendent Anant Dev said she was well acquainted with the accused and even had physical relations with some of them.
"The girl met the accused and went with them by consent. There she herself asked them for vodka and then asked them to have physical relations with her," the superintendent of police (City) told reporters.
The Class 10 victim said she was forcibly made to drink alcohol and then raped. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken a suo moto congnisance of the case.
"We have taken a suo moto congnizance of the case. We are going to ask for a disciplinary action from the Uttar Pradesh government and the city SP for violating the juvenile justice act under section 21," NCPCR chief Shantha Sinha told IANS.
Actvists pointed to the ignorance of the law-implementing agencies about the identity and life of victims in such cases.
"A girl can sleep with her boyfriend, but not with five people. The administration has failed to impose laws which could have otherwise saved so many innocent victims," said Meenakshi Lekhi, Supreme court lawyer.
Earlier in the day, union Minister of Women and Child Development Krishna Teerath said the police need to be sensitised.
"This is wrong. We cannot take the name of the victim. When the police are not sensitized, they must be sensitized," Teerath told reporters.
While the police's insensitivity has raised a storm, earlier West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had created stir by calling an Anglo-Indian woman's alleged rape as a "cooked up" charge to "malign the government".