The world today is in a #MeToo era. Women across the globe are being encouraged to come out and openly speak up against even the slightest of sexual harassment. This movement started with the Harvey Weinstein exposé and has caught on globally with hundreds of women coming forward with their personal accounts of harassment. The male society has responded positively with the #IHearYou campaign to give courage to the women who went public against the perpetrators of abuse. This has ushered in a new era of women’s emancipation that is bound to confront the predatory male attitude. With such an international mindset developing in the background, it is devastating to learn that the brave girl of Kunduli in Orissa has committed suicide.
This suicide of the 9th class student of Kunduli village in Koraput district of Orissa will retain 22 January as a dark day for Oriya society. The minor girl had consistently alleged that she had been gang raped by four uniformed security personnel on 10 October 2017. It is a known fact that Koraput has very many Central forces deployed to counter left-wing extremists. The girl’s allegation was, from the very beginning, refuted by all authorities. The Orissa police went on an overdrive to prove her a liar. This media had reported about the girl alleging that she had been receiving threatening calls after she went public in the matter. She was visibly unwell when brought to SCB Hospital at Cuttack. Inexplicably, the doctors opined that the girl had not been raped. The parents of the child said that just because they were poor, the doctors involved in the medical examination could easily be won over. In a world which seems to be producing more male predators, the Kunduli girl had become the epitome of harassment by uniformed men or in other words, government recruits. That very fact deserved prompt and ruthless reaction to nip it in the bud.
Sadly, however, the Orissa police thought it proper to constantly keep refuting the girl’s allegations and repeatedly told media that since no proof could be obtained, the girl was a liar. A Crime Branch investigation or a judicial probe could not give solace to the harassed victim. With social stigma, constant media glare and absolutely no ray of hope for justice, this little girl must have gone through hell in the ensuing months after her rape. With everyone unified in refusing to accept her version, the Orissa police did manage to win the battle of nerves. If the girl would have alleged rape by four civilian youth, probably she could have seen some action against the culprits. Since her allegation was against policemen, the whole system seems to have ganged up against one minor helpless female citizen of India.
On this Saraswati puja day, those four culprits who raped the innocent girl and the Orissa police officials who left no stone unturned to cover up the crime, must be happy and gloating. The criminals are still walking and breathing free. The girl is dead. For the conscious citizens of Orissa, 22 January 2018 will be remembered as a day of naked injustice and inhuman reaction against a daughter of this land. There is no social or legal system to punish these evil people who have been proven to be the real liars by the suicide of this girl.
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