Patna is on the boil for the past couple of days after the gangrape of a schoolgirl and circulation of CD and MMS of the incident allegedly by seven youths. The incident happened in posh Rajvanshi Nagar where top government officers and politicians have their residences.
This is not the first such case in recent times. The gangrape and murder in Jamui and recent gangrape of two girls in Nalanda district have sent shock waves among Bihar residents. In the gangrape case of Nawada, the lone witness of the victim, her only son, was allegedly burnt alive.
In the Rajvanshi Nagar incident, the girl was called by her boyfriend Prashant Jha to meet him and then he took her to some house where his six other friends brutally tormented her on June 14. The incident was recorded live and later converted into CD and MMS with an apparent intention to further blackmail her.
Initially Patna police refused to entertain the complaint of the victim but when a local TV channel telecast a portion of the CD and flashed the picture of the rapists, the state Women Commission took cognizance of the offence and only then police formally lodged the FIR of the incident after more than a month. Police then arrested Prashant, Lamba, Ranvijay, Sushant, domestic help Dinesh and Arman, a minor boy. Saurabh, the mystery boy, is yet to be arrested.
The local channel claimed that they got this CD about a month ago and handed it over to the then city SP Kim Sharma. But she developed cold feet after initial investigation. “After initial investigation when she found wards of some powerful people in the case, she must have calculated its risk in going ahead,” said a woman activist involved in the agitation against the gangrape incident.
She was transferred to the remote Katihar district immediately after a short stint of only a few months in Patna. This sudden move of government is seen to be linked with this incident.
Social activists of the city organised a candle light march and later organised a dharna at Kargil Chawk. It was only after media activism and acute social pressure, the police swung into action.
But immediately the police role came under the scanner and fist bombshell was dropped by a member of the Bihar Women’s Commission, Chandramukhi Devi, who is pursuing the case. Devi said she was sure that the Patna police are trying to twist the teenager gangrape case to save the high and mighty.
She even charged the police with changing the place of crime from a bungalow in Rajvanshi Nagar to Rambha Apartment in New Punaichak area.
“When the victim has mentioned seven culprits before Chief Judicial Magistrate and recorded CD, it provides ample proof for the police to go ahead for speedy trial,” said an agitated senior citizen of Patna.
The interesting turn came in the case when police tried to fix Dinesh, a domestic help of one of the accused, Saurabh. But he vehemently denied that he has any other name. Police are yet to arrest Saurabh.
Meanwhile, the Janata Dal (United) MLA from Barh, Gyanendra Singh alias Gyanu lodged an FIR with Shastri Nagar police station against a news website accusing it of publishing his son’s name (Saurabh) as one of accused in the infamous gangrape case.
On the first day of the State Assembly, the Opposition created a ruckus in the House demanding CBI probe into the gangrape case. It alleged that the police are hand in glove with the culprits. It is trying times for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has to come clean ensuring punishment to the culprits.
-Sunday Standard