Who is responsible for Delhi gang rape?

It will not be inappropriate to give a brief account of the facts of Delhi gang rape incident before we delve into its causes and attempt to fix up the responsibility for it. A 23 year old girl who was a permanent resident of district Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) and physiotherapy student along with her boyfriend after visiting a mall in Saket reached a bus stop in an auto-ricksaw in Munirka on Outer Ring Road Delhi and boarded a contract carriage luxury bus going toward Palam (Indira Gandhi International Airport) at about 9:30 pm on 16 December, 2012. There were already four other passengers in the bus besides the driver and the cleaner. Three of the passengers passed some lewd remarks about the girl which led to an altercation between her boyfriend and them. In the ensuing scuffle, the victims male friend attacked one of the accused; subsequently, they attacked him with iron rods, pounced on the girl, dragged her into the rear of the bus, raped her one by one and also inserted a rod into her vagina damaging her interior body parts. Thereafter, they threw her and her boyfriend off the bus on national Highway 8 near Mahipalpur flyover around 10.15 pm almost six kilometres from where they had boarded the bus and tried to crush them but could not do so. They were spotted by a security guard deployed at a nearly construction site who informed the police as they were injured and bleeding. The police reached the spot and rushed them to Safdarganj Hospital. The girl subsequently died in Singapore on December 29 where she had been taken for better medical treatment. The police submitted a charge-sheet on January 3, 2013 against five persons under various sections of Indian Penal code, 1860 for rape and murder etc. including the bus driver Ram Singh. Another charge sheet for a juvenile delinquent was filed for trial in a juvenile court. The investigations by the police revealed as under: (1) The bus belonged to someone of Noida District, Ghaziabad (U.P) but without registration. (2) Driver Ram Singh, one of the accused, was an invalid and not physically fit to be issued with a driving licence. It was transparent that he had obtained the licence by greasing the palm of the authorities concerned. (3) The bus had tinted glasses which emboldened the accused to indulge in the gang rape and try to go scot-free as their activities inside the bus were not to be visible from outside. They were confident that the chances of getting caught were remote, and getting convicted even remoter which made them indulge in gang rape with impunity. (4) All the accused were inebriated and known to one another, comprising one lot which engendered a sense of unity in them. Had they belonged to different walks of life, someone among them might have opposed others bent on committing the crime.

There was a public outrage and the incident evoked widespread condemnation as it happened in a running bus in the heart of the capital of the country barring few comments by some zealots like self-styled Asharam Bapu who held the girl equally responsible and Mohan

Bhagwat ,the RSS chief, who opined that it had happened in India and not in Bharat i.e rural areas. The comment of Asharam Bapu was fatuous and reprehensible for the girl did not board the bus with an intention to get gang raped nor did she have even an inkling before boarding the bus that she would be subjected to gang rape. Had it been so, she would not have boarded the bus at all. Likewise, the remark of Mohan Bhagwat , the RSS chief, too was fatuous and condemnable as gang rapes happened in rural areas as well with the only difference that such incidents were either not detected or not reported due to fear of being social outcast or pariah. It is transparent from the facts stated above that the following were the causes of the gang rape:(1) Had there been proper checking of the bus by the police, it would not have been allowed to ply in Delhi as it did not have valid documents and as such, the gang rape would not have happened at all. (2) Had the bus driver Ram Singh who was not physically fit to be issued with a driving licence not been issued such licence, the incident would not have happened as he would not have been the driver of the ill-fated bus. (3) The bus had tinted glasses. Had the Supreme Courts guidelines in April 2012 against the tinted glasses in vehicles been strictly enforced the rape incident would have been averted as pointed out by no less a person than the Chief Justice Of India, Altamas Kabir on January 2, 2013 while inaugurating the first of five newly formed fast-track courts in Delhi to try cases related to sexual offences against women. (4) All the accused were drunk. Had they not been so, the incident of gang rape might not have taken place for no sane person in his senses would have behaved the way all the accused did. Because the normal restraints of a person disappear under the influence of drinks and their hostile and aggressive fantasies, intimately intermingling with sexual lust, are converted into irresponsible action. (5) All the accused were either illiterate or semi-literate. No educated person would have committed the crime the way they did. John Adams says, Education makes a greater difference between man and man than nature has made between man and brute. That is to say an uneducated person is worse than a brute and the perpetrators of the Delhi gang rape were really worse than brutes because they inserted a rod into the vagina of the victim after raping her which even animals would not have done. So we can say that lack of proper education in the accused was one of the causes responsible for the crime. (6) Last but not the least, women have been raped and gang raped from time immemorial and it will continue to be so long as there are sun and stars in the sky provided an opportunity is available for the purpose because man is an animal. He is also a social animal and if he gives a full reign to his passion, there will be anarchy and chaos in society putting family life in jeopardy. The liberal policy which is the bedrock of our democracy is good for all practical purposes but it should not be misutilised so as to

hit at the very root of our social well-being. Hence the furore over the Delhi gang rape. As regards responsibility for the aforesaid incident it is apparent from the facts stated above that Delhi police and Transport Department both are equally responsible-though both are passing buck to each other. The Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir has hit the nail in the head by pointing out that had the Supreme Courts guidelines against tinted glasses in the vehicles been strictly implemented, the gang rape would have been averted. The police say that it was the responsibility of the transport authorities to take necessary action while the latter say that it was the job of the former to check the vehicles. There is a tug of war between both the departments. The police in Delhi is under the Union home Ministry whereas the Transport Department is under the Delhi State Government. Likewise, the bus under question did not have valid documents but it was plying unabated. Obviously it was the job of police to confiscate it. Had it been done so, the gang rape incident would not have taken place at all. Lastly Ram Singh, who was physically unfit to be issued with a driving licence, did have one such licence from the Transport Department of Delhi obviously with illegal gratification and the Transport Department cannot escape from responsibility in the matter. Had it not been done so, the gang rape incident would not have happened. It is crystal clear from the above facts that the Delhi Police Department as well as Transport department are both responsible for the gang rape in question. However, it is commendable that five Fast track courts have been set up in Delhi to try sexual offences relating to women in aftermath of the Delhi gang rape incident and the Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir too has ordered establishment of similar courts all over the country which will positively have dampening effect on the rise of crimes against women and give prompt justice to the victims. Our judicial system is liberal but sound though the courts are overloaded resulting in delayed disposal of some cases. In our Indian law, 99 guilty persons may be acquitted but not a single person should be convicted. And as such, courts award death sentences only in rarest of the rare cases of murder or rape followed by murder. Therefore, such judicial verdicts should be respected in letter and spirit and these should be implemented promptly as it happened in the case of Dhananjay Chatterji in West Bengal. That is to say, there should not be any dithering on the part of the authorities concerned as in several murder cases around twenty in the country including the attack on our parliament in which accused have been awarded death sentences but they have been waiting in jails for a number of years for implementation of the judicial verdicts. It gives wrong message to the masses that the authorities concerned are not serious about implementation of judicial verdicts which is tantamount to making a mockery of justice for justice delayed is justice denied. Our courts take years to sift evidence and it is only when the charges against the accused are proved to the hilt that they convict them and as such, in the event of death penalty their verdicts should be implemented without undue delay and consideration of

caste or creed for criminal is a criminal and as such, he should not be given any leeway to garner votes or due to any other reason whatsoever and if there is an appeal for presidential pardon, which is almost in all cases, that should be forwarded by the authorities concerned to the President of India in a reasonable period of time. Any laxity in the matter will give an impetus to such heinous crimes. In the wake of the Delhi gang rape incident, there has been a clamour for death penalty for rape as the present law on the statute is so mild as not to act as a deterrent for this crime. Justice Verma committee appointed by the government of India on December 23, 2012 subsequent to the Delhi gang rape incident submitted its report within 29 days not recommending death penalty for rape though barring the Delhi gang rape. But the Union Cabinet in response to the country wide clamour demanding harsh punishment for rape, decided on February 1, 2013 to issue an ordinance making a provision of death penalty also for barbaric rape cases to which the President of India gave his assent on February 3, 2013. The need of the hour is strictest and fastest enforcement of the laws of the country in heinous offence of rape like that of the Delhi gang rape incident. It is, however, to be borne in mind that there should not be any miscarriage of justice and it has got to be ensured that the harsh law in respect of rape should not be exploited by the vested interest for it may give a handle to women of easy virtue to feign rape cases with the ulterior motive to be rich overnight or due to inimical reasons.

We have stated above the crux of the matter. However, it may be worth mentioning that the following factors too may be taken into account as responsible for the heinous offences like the gang rape of Delhi:*Lack of parental guidance ;Lack of parental guidance and instructions too may be treated to be one of the causes responsible for the crime of similar nature. Very little attention is paid to the youngsters emotional and psychological needs. Parents are usually busy with their work, the children become lonely and bored; they turn aggressive. Instead of going into an empty home after the school, a large number of children spend their time with their colleagues or watch TV and video. The lack of proper extra-curricular activities, easy availability of films full of aggression and romance, explosive programmes on TV coupled with their peer group pressure, have steadily eroded the traditional values right from habits, life styles to aspirations. Moreover, a large number of kids are given all that they want and as a result, they have lost all senses of value. With more exposure to life through TV, cinema etc. and with little direction from the parents the chances of youths getting wrong ideas are very high. Perhaps the filthy programmes of TV, films and video are the greatest culprits in inculcating wrong values amongst misguided youths and vulnerable old people.

*Sexuality in movies:In our Hindi movies, the heroines, who were skittish about dropping their stoles are now willing to bare breasts and body for sex-hungry viewers. The new trend among Hindi film makers is sexual violence, foul languages and romance. Films become hit because of noholds-barred rape and gang rape scenes with all the details. And in such movies, a number of visuals and dialogues depict women as a pleasing object to males and it leaves bad impact on the mind of the children and youngsters; therefore, it is also a potent cause of such brutal rape incident. A healthy, balanced diet of wholesome entertainment is the need of the hour. The present day depiction of sex and violence in films is not only against the long cherished Indian traditions, but also affecting the young generation and the children of our country adversely. The increase in rape cases and gang rapes are the result of sex and violence supplied through the films to a great extent. To save the young generation from this depravation and degeneration, some suitable resulting actions are required to be initiated urgently. *Cheap literature and Pornography:It is not only the visual media but also the cheap literatures which should not be in reach of the children for spoils their mind and drives them to undesirable and bestial activities. Pornography encourages violence against women, especially sexual violence and rape for it depicts women as always interested in sex, particularly in giving pleasure to men; as enjoying being overpowered, tied up, or hit; and enjoying sex even after they have said no or struggled and resisted. Men who learn about sex through watching pornographic scenes, will treat women as existing solely for their sexual desires, and will not hesitate to assault women and force sex on them. Pornography stimulates their carnal instinct and therefore, they often commit rapes and gang rapes. Effective measures should be initiated by the government against the availability of pornographic literature and display of pornographic scenes on TV and visual media.